In the past, eggplant fruits (other names: eggplant, love pear, bush egg) were white or yellow in color and were twice as large as a hen's egg.Until today, many varieties have been bred that bear fruit of various shapes and colors.The Asian varieties are extremely colorful. In Europe, the most popular forms are those that produce large, dark purple fruit.
Growing eggplant from seeds
We start growing from seeds in March. Young plants have the best conditions for development on a sunny window sill.Transplant the eggplants onto the bed at the earliest at the end of May.All varieties are self-pollinating, but a temperature above 16 ° C is needed for pollination.High humidity causes pollen particles to stick together. Dry, hot air also makes it difficult or even impossible to set the fruit. As with tomatoes, the pollination process is favored by light shaking of the shoots every 2-3 days in the midday hours.
Eggplant can be grown on the same plot only after 4 years. In a greenhouse, this is usually impossible. Here we can use grafted plants. Vital wild tomatoes are used as rootstocks.Inoculated eggplants are more resistant to fungal diseases, grow stronger and yield more fruit.Plants run on 2-4 shoots need stable supports. We cultivate them like tomatoes: in June, remove unnecessary side shoots and additionally cut the top of the main shoot. If we don't, the plant will develop 1 or 2 large fruits.Others, which mature later, will be small.
Tasty varieties of eggplant
By nature, small-berry varieties, such as 'Ophelia' or 'Ivory', as well as exotic forms with pink, green, light purple or creamy-white fruit, branch out strongly, have a compact habit and do well
in conditions of limited space in the pot. The orange-red fruits of the African eggplant Solanum aethiopicum ripen on shoots 70 centimeters long.They are similar to tiny pumpkins and are appreciated for their decorative qualities.Their flesh has an intense, slightly bitter taste, which is characteristic of many traditional varieties. Italians grow the 'Melanzane Rosse' variety outdoors.
Big-fruit varieties, such as 'Rotondo Sfumata', have very high fertilization needs. Varieties bearing small fruits require the same fertilization as tomatoes. When planting, we feed the plants with a large dose of compost. Later, when the fruit set begins, we regularly provide them with extra food.Throughout the summer we stir the hatching soil every two weeks
with fertilizer for tomatoes or vegetables or water with liquid organic fertilizer.
Greenhouse eggplant cultivation
In the greenhouse, the fruit harvest begins in July. Plants grown in the bed must wait until the beginning of August. We collect the fruit gradually until mid-September. However, when the air temperature drops below 18 ° C at night, the rate of fruit ripening becomes much slower.Therefore, let's use the final weeks of summer to taste the fruits of an increasingly popular vegetable.Various recipes for delicious dishes
eggplant can easily be found on the Internet.
