When to plant eggplant for seedlings in 2019 according to the lunar calendar? How to care for her at home and in the garden? How to grow eggplant seedlings at home? My seedlings are always pretty, strong. Growing eggplant is my favorite pastime. I always plant them more than I need, so every year I share seedlings with my friends. For some reason, few people like to grow it. Either the seeds do not germinate, or they hatch and die immediately. I grow it at home, on the windowsill. I’m joking all the time that I really love eggplants, and so they pay me the same. I really have no secrets. Let me tell you about planting eggplant for seedlings, and you decide what is useful from my experience, and what you know without me.
Planting eggplant for seedlings in 2019 in the Kuban
For many years I have been using the usual formula to calculate the date of planting blue for seedlings. I cite it in the article "When to Sow Seeds for Seedlings." Do not be afraid, there will be no complicated mathematical calculations. Let's calculate together the date of planting eggplant seedlings in open ground in 2019.
We will need to know when, according to agronomists, it is optimal to plant eggplants in open ground.
In the Kuban, this period is the first decade of May. The lunar calendar for 2019 advises to plant eggplants on April 10, 11, 18-20, and in May - on 9, 10, 14, 18. Eggplants are thermophilic, they do not like cold. But we don’t know what the weather will be like these days. For convenience of calculations, we take the date - May 9. That is, we will plant eggplants in open ground on May 9.
Blue seedlings are planted in open ground or a greenhouse 65-70 days after germination. We count 65-70 days from the date of April 30. We get dates from February 27 to March 4. Eggplant seedlings appear after 5-10 days. So, from February 27 and March 4, we count back 10 days. And we get the optimal dates for sowing seeds for seedlings in the Kuban - February 17-22. So we came close to the dates of sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings. But do not forget about favorable or unfavorable days for sowing according to the lunar calendar.
In 2019 - an auspicious day for sowing little blue ones - February 7, 10, 11, 14, 15. I think it’s worth adjusting the sowing date. Two to three days of difference in planting dates is not significant.
Based on all these considerations, I personally chose February 14 and 15 for planting eggplant for seedlings. So I will plant.
So, I advise you to plant eggplant (seeds) for seedlings in the Kuban on February 14, 15, 2019.
Sowing eggplant for seedlings in 2019 in central Russia
But among the readers of our blog there are many who live much north of the Krasnodar Territory. Especially for central Russia, let's calculate the dates of planting eggplant for seedlings in 2019.
For many years I lived in the Nizhny Novgorod region. That experience tells me that heat-loving eggplant is best planted in open ground after the danger of frost has passed. And this is approximately the first half of June. According to the lunar calendar, the days of June 11-15 are favorable. Take these dates as a basis. Repeating the calculations that we performed above, we can calculate the date of planting eggplant for seedlings for central Russia in 2019.
I got the following days - from March 23 to April 1. Again we look into the lunar sowing calendar. From March 23 to April 1, the Moon is waning. That is, these days it is preferable to plant root crops. Eggplant is best planted on the growing moon. Attention, April 4-6, 2019 - forbidden days for planting any crops. We look further. Two options are suitable. This is March 21 and April 10. Use the weather in your area of residence.
I would choose a later date. I know from experience that it is better to plant small seedlings than overgrown. But, of course, the choice is yours. Auspicious days sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings in 2019 in central Russia - March 21 or April 10.
To grow blue ones in a greenhouse, they need to be sown three weeks earlier.
The most common mistakes when growing eggplant seedlings
- You have sown seeds that have lost their germination due to long or improper storage. How to avoid such an error? Make it a rule to always sprout seeds before sowing. In this case, it will definitely be clear which ones to sow and which not. Sprout seeds in any growth stimulator (sodium humate, heteroauxin, energy, HB-101 or strained infusion of wood ash on aloe juice).
- Do not use gauze for seed germination. Small weak seedlings can fall between gauze threads and break down during the extraction process.
- Seeds close up in the soil at 0.5 mm or a maximum of 1 cm.
- Do not place containers with eggplant seedlings on a cold windowsill and do not fill the sown seeds with water. This is just the case when the seeds can hatch, but rot in a cold, damp earth. In addition, cold soil can delay seed germination by 20–25 days.
Rules for successfully growing blue seedlings
Eggplant seedlings are very temperature sensitive. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 20-25ºС, with it they germinate after 5-10 days. At a temperature of 13ºС, eggplant ceases to grow and gradually dies. The optimum temperature for a good development of seedlings is 22-25ºС.
After the appearance of the first shoots, gradually remove the shelter and transfer the containers with seedlings to a bright, cooler place with a temperature of about 18 ° C. This contributes to better root growth. At a higher temperature, the leaves begin to grow, which is undesirable, since the roots are still weak.
I think that everyone who sowed eggplant at least once had this problem - seedlings do not drop the seed coat. Why is this happening? Perhaps the sowing of the seeds was too superficial or you were in a hurry to remove the film or glass from the box with seedlings when it just started to peck.
In general, seedlings with “caps” are usually removed, but what about when you sow some interesting variety for seedlings whose seeds are so few? Have to work hard! Several times (sometimes up to 5-7 times) every 10-20 minutes I moisten the “caps” with a brush with warm water. And then I gently poke the “hat” with a needle and it is very easily removed.
Eggplant is a short-day plant. Artificial lighting at 10-12 hours is enough for them. They begin to do backlighting when the seedlings turn 3 weeks old. With this kind of eggplant cultivation, the budding phase will start 20-25 days earlier, which means that the harvest will be early.
Seedlings can be planted at the age of 60-65 days. Of course, after the threat of frost passes and the soil warms up well.
I wish you great yields with proper growing eggplant seedlings! When to plant them in seedlings, you know. Good luck!
Article edited December 7, 2018.