Eggplant "Bagira" F1

Eggplant ''Bagira'' F1.
Mid-season (100-110 days from germination to fruiting), tall (up to 1.2 m) hybrid.
Recommended for film shelters and greenhouses. Sowing for seedlings is carried out at the end of February. Picking in the cotyledon phase. Planting seedlings at the end of May.
Formation: removing all lateral shoots and leaves up to the first fork. By the end of July, 5-6 of the largest ovaries are left on the plant, other flowers and ovaries are removed.
Fruits are oval, 12-20 cm long, dark purple in color, with a glossy surface, weighing 250-300 g. The pulp is of medium density, white with a green tint, without bitterness.
It has a very delicate taste and is very easy to prepare.
Unpretentious.
Planting pattern: 40x60 cm.
Yield of one plant: 2.5-3.0 kg.

* Eggplants in a greenhouse are best grown separately from other crops, or at most together with tomatoes.
They should not be grown together with cucumbers at all, since they have different requirements for air humidity.
But, when grown together with tall tomatoes, eggplants should be planted on the sunny side, otherwise the tomatoes will shade them - then there is no hope for a good harvest of fruits.
Keep in mind that there are varieties of eggplants on sale from dwarf to very tall. Therefore, when planting seedlings in a greenhouse, you should have a good idea of ​​how tall the plants will grow from them.
Unlike tomatoes, eggplant does not tolerate deep planting when planting seedlings. The depth of the hole in the ground should be only 1-2 cm more than the height of the pot with seedlings. The seedlings are placed in a hole watered with warm water, then covered with soil so that the soil level is 1-2 cm higher than the root ball.
After planting, the plants must be shaded for 2-3 days and be sure to provide regular watering, since eggplants do not tolerate any transplantation well, since their rather weak root system is located in the upper soil layer and cannot provide moisture to the powerful leaf apparatus. It is also useful to water them at the same time with a solution of black yeast, 1 glass of solution for each plant.
The leaves and shoots of eggplant are very tender and fragile, they break off easily. Therefore, immediately after planting, it is better to tie medium-sized and tall plants to a reliable support.
At the same time, many gardeners put pegs for each plant, and quite massive ones, equal to the height of an adult plant. This is especially important for tall, large-fruited hybrid plants. But it is much easier to tie them not to pegs, but to a trellis, like tomatoes, or even easier: to a wire stretched over rows of eggplants.
To do this, a string is attached to the wire with a sliding knot. Its length should be such that it is easy to tie the lower part of the stem. The string is attached to the stem with a knot and wrapped around the main stem, like tomatoes. As another shoot develops, it also needs to be tied up. Low-growing varieties do not require such a garter, since they have a straight and strong stem.
After planting, eggplants usually take root within 10-12 days. At this time, it is necessary to do shallow loosening of the soil, gradually raking the soil to the plants, and moderate watering is carried out. Watering is best done in the morning, watering with water heated to +28+30°C. Since the eggplant root system is located in the upper soil layer, loosening the soil should be shallow and necessarily accompanied by light hilling.
Further care of eggplants comes down to plant formation, watering, fertilizing and pest and disease control.
Plant formation.
The most important technique when growing medium-sized and especially tall plants is their formation, since the entire eggplant harvest depends on it.
To form a compact bush with well-developed lateral shoots, the top of the stem is usually removed when it reaches a height of 25-30 cm. After this, the plant begins to branch.
Two stepsons are usually left on the plant, on which the entire harvest is formed, and the rest are removed. But if it was not possible to save all the planted seedlings or there were not enough of them, then the plants can be formed into three stems. For this, another large stepson is left, formed during the branching of one of the two stems. When the shoots begin to branch, it is necessary to select a strong shoot at each branching and leave it as the main one. And the other weaker shoot should be pinched after the second leaf above the ovary, leaving only one fruit on the shoot. This should be done further with all subsequent branches. Depending on the variety and size of the fruit, 5 to 12 fruits are left on one plant.
In very hot and dry weather, the fruitless lower stepsons can be left, since they will protect the soil from drying out.
In addition, every 3-5 days it is necessary to remove all fruitless shoots, leaves and side shoots, flowers and ovaries growing below the branching point of the main stem.
To speed up the ripening of eggplants, 3-4 weeks before the end of the growing season, the tops of the shoots are pinched, stopping their growth. Each skeletal branch of tall plants should be tied separately and very carefully, because they are very fragile and very easy to break.
And one more piece of advice: the greenhouse with eggplants should be regularly ventilated, opening all the vents and transoms, because air humidity above 65-70% is unacceptable. On very hot days, the glass should be shaded.
Watering and fertilizing.
Eggplant is very demanding of soil moisture, so it should be constantly moderately moist. Lack of moisture in the soil can lead to lignification of stems, falling of flowers, ovaries and leaves. And when watered with cold water, plants stop growing, flowering and fruiting are delayed.
Therefore, eggplants are watered before flowering once a week with warm water (+25+30 °C) by sprinkling 10-11 liters per 1 m2, and in hot weather - 2 times a week (and during flowering and fruiting, watering should be done at least 2 times a week, 12-14 liters per 1 sq. meter). Moreover, it is necessary to water not by sprinkling, but only under the root, while providing maximum ventilation of the greenhouse. Condensation should not be allowed to appear on the plants at this time. Those who visit their summer cottage only on weekends should also water the eggplants twice, dividing the weekly water rate equally between Saturday and Sunday.
And in order to always have warm water at hand, it is best to build a basic installation for heating water with the sun in the garden or use water from a barrel that is in the greenhouse. After watering, the soil should be loosened to a depth of 5-6 cm, while hilling the plants.
Modern varieties and hybrids of eggplants (especially tall ones) require frequent application of increased doses of fertilizers. Only in this way do they realize their potential. Therefore, eggplant nutrition should be taken very, very seriously. Top dressing should be timed to coincide with the main phases of plant development.
With normal soil fertilization, the first top dressing of plants should be carried out 15-20 days after planting seedlings with a solution of mullein (1:10) or bird droppings with the addition of 1 tbsp per 10 liters of solution spoon of nitrophoska, using 4 liters per 1 sq. m of plantings (If you do not have organic matter, then take 2 tablespoons of nitrophoska per bucket of water).
The second feeding is carried out at the very beginning of fruiting, when the plant needs phosphorus and potassium most, adding 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska and 0.5 cups of ash to a bucket of the same solution of mullein or bird droppings. The third feeding with the same solution is carried out 15 days after the second feeding.
During flowering and fruiting, in addition to liquid feeding, it is also recommended to sprinkle the soil with wood ash, 1 cup per 1 sq. m of the bed.
All root feeding is done on damp soil, i.e. the day before feeding, the plants must be watered. After fertilizing and watering, the plants must be hilled.
Eggplants are harvested 30-35 days after flowering in the technical ripeness phase, when they reach the size and color typical for the variety. These eggplants are usually glossy, a beautiful purple color (for most varieties). Overripe eggplants are brown, matte, have coarse and tasteless flesh.
The fruits are harvested after 5-6 days. They are cut with pruning shears and placed in a basket. You cannot pick the fruits by hand, as this will cause serious injury to the plant. Harvesting must be completed before frost, as frozen fruits are tasteless.
The harvested eggplants quickly lose their taste and wrinkle. But in a dry and cool room, they can be stored for about a month. They can also be stored in the refrigerator for some time.
When eggplants are fully ripe, the content of poisonous solanine in them increases sharply. In case of poisoning, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal colic, shortness of breath, convulsions, and loss of consciousness may occur. First aid before the doctor arrives - the patient is given milk, slimy soups, and egg whites.