Description of "Long purple" eggplant, its characteristics, pros and cons
It takes a lot of effort to grow eggplants in the country. This agricultural crop is susceptible to various diseases, eggplants and pests suffer. It is important to choose the right vegetable variety. Take into account its resistance to diseases, yield and taste. Summer residents note that when planting an eggplant of the Long Purple variety, a good harvest can be reaped.
Detailed description
The Long Violet eggplant is considered to be an early maturing and highly productive variety. It takes about 3 months from sowing to harvesting. This crop is suitable for growing in greenhouses and outdoors. Eggplants are called blue in another way, because of the characteristic color of the fruit.
The bushes of the plant can grow up to about half a meter tall. The flowers are beautiful, somewhat reminiscent of potato flowers. Fruits are elongated, can be up to 25 cm long and weigh up to 300 grams. The flesh is blue, medium density, greenish-white hue without bitterness. Vegetables are used for the preparation of preserves, side dishes and first courses.
The Long Violet variety is distinguished by its spicy taste and presentable presentation. Such vegetables do not deteriorate during long-term transportation.
Characteristics of Long Purple Eggplant
In recent years, many varieties of eggplants have been bred, of different sizes and colors. But more often in the gardens there are blue ones, having a beautiful, glossy, purple color. Summer residents are attracted by the characteristics of this culture.
- The blue bushes are compact, they do not grow in all the free space. The plant grows to about half a meter tall.
- Early maturity. With the correct distribution of the timing of planting, diving and disembarking in open ground, the first harvest can actually be obtained in 3 months. If the seeds are sown in March, the harvest is planned for the end of June.
- Productivity. Up to 10 fruits are harvested from one bush, each weighing about 300 grams. With proper care, up to 3 kg of vegetables can be obtained from one bush.
- Delicious and aromatic pulp with delicate seeds.
The Long Purple variety can be used not only for preparing first courses, side dishes and snacks. This culture is preserved for the winter.
Delicious salted eggplant with fried carrots, parsley and garlic.
Pros and cons
Like every vegetable crop, this variety has advantages and disadvantages. The pluses include:
- High productivity.
- Excellent taste.
- Attractive appearance.
- Long-term storage.
Of the shortcomings, summer residents note susceptibility to diseases and frequent invasion of areas with blue pests. The disadvantages of the variety include the fact that with improper care, the bushes grow weak and there are few ovaries on them.
Growing seedlings from seeds
There are many ways to grow seedlings. If there is no greenhouse, then you can use flower pots or special containers. According to the observation of many summer residents, seedlings from the greenhouse are stronger and more resistant to diseases.
In the greenhouse
You can plant seedlings in the greenhouse at the end of February. An important condition for good seed germination is a sufficiently heated and fertilized soil. Previously, the land is fertilized with mineral fertilizers and manure. They wait a couple of weeks and start planting blue ones.
In landing containers
The soil is collected in containers in the fall, but it is pre-fertilized. If the idea to plant eggplants came spontaneously, and there is no land that has been collected, it doesn't matter. You can buy special soil for planting fruit and vegetable crops at a specialized store.
For planting seeds, plastic containers and peat pots are used. In the latter case, seedlings are planted in the ground directly in pots.
You cannot use the same land for planting seedlings for 2 years in a row. The soil is renewed every year.
Transplanting
Before proceeding with planting seeds, they should be prepared. This is done in several stages.
- A full teaspoon of table salt is dissolved in a liter of warm tap water. The seeds prepared for planting are poured into the solution, mixed and left for 5 minutes. The seeds that have floated up are drained, and those that have fallen to the bottom are well washed with clean water.
- Dilute potassium permanganate and dip the seeds into the composition for 20 minutes. The color of the solution should be red, but not saturated. Then the seeds are dipped into the growth stimulator solution and left for 10 hours.
- Put moistened cotton pads in a pallet, prepared seeds on them, they are also covered with wet cotton on top. In this state, the planting material is left for 3 days at room temperature.
After three days, the seeds are evaluated. By this time, they should already hatch, so you can remove weak specimens without shoots or with weak shoots.
Make sure that the cotton pads are constantly wet. Otherwise, the seeds will die!
After that, holes are made with a pencil in the prepared soil, 2-3 seeds are placed in them and sprinkled with earth. Cover the pots with foil and put them in a warm place. The first shoots usually appear after a couple of weeks. In the greenhouse, the blue ones are planted in the same way.
Culture care
After the first shoots appear, the room temperature is reduced. This will avoid over-stretching the sprouts. For 5 days, they keep the temperature during the day no more than 16 degrees, and at night no more than 13.
Then the regime is changed, at night the temperature should be about 18 degrees, and during the day - 26. At the same time, weak specimens of shoots are removed from the pots.
Watering rules
Water the eggplant seedlings as the soil dries out. It is optimal to do this after 2 days on the third. Water for irrigation is taken at a settled room temperature. Do not pour water directly under the root.
Top dressing
The first feeding is carried out after the appearance of the third true leaves on the shoots. For feeding, use a mineral fertilizer purchased in a store. Dilute it in accordance with the instructions.
Bush formation
The bush is formed by removing lateral shoots and leaves up to the first fork. After the plant has faded, 6-7 of the largest ovaries are left on it, the rest are recommended to be removed.
Diseases and pests
Eggplants are susceptible to disease, but most often these are the consequences of improper care.
- Blackleg.A fungal infection affects the stem of the plant due to over-watering.
- Late blight. In this case, the lower leaves are covered with dark spots. This disease is also of a fungal nature and develops due to excessive moisture.
- Mosaic. This disease manifests itself even during the period of growing seedlings. It is characterized by an uneven color of the leaves, which dry out over time. Plants infected with this virus have small irregularly shaped fruits.
Of the pests, plants are most often affected by Colorado beetles and slugs. If there are few pests, they are collected, otherwise the plants are treated with pesticides.
Harvesting and storage
Eggplant is harvested as the fruit ripens. If the seedlings are planted early, then the first harvest can be harvested already at the end of June, beginning of July. Store the crop in a cellar, refrigerator or cool place. Periodically, vegetables are reviewed and spoiled ones are removed.
