Eggplant "Paleta Barev" (mixture)

Embrace the vibrant beauty of your garden with the Eggplant "Paleta Barev" (Mixture)! This unique blend of hybrid eggplant varieties will transform your vegetable patch into a colorful masterpiece. Enjoy the delightful contrast of 'Beatrice' F1 (light purple), 'Clara' F1 (white), and 'Serena' F1 (black-purple) eggplants, all from a single seed packet. Imagine the culinary possibilities and the visual appeal these diverse eggplants will bring to your table!

Key Characteristics:

• Variety Mixture: A curated blend of three distinct eggplant varieties.
• Color Palette: Offers a range of colors from light purple to white to black-purple.
• Hybrid Vigor: F1 hybrids ensure vigorous growth, high yields, and disease resistance.
• Early Maturity: Enjoy a relatively early harvest compared to some heirloom varieties.
• Excellent Taste: Each variety offers a unique and delicious flavor profile.

Growing and Usage Features:

To get the most out of your Eggplant "Paleta Barev" (Mixture), consider these helpful tips:

Starting Seeds: Due to their slow initial growth, eggplants are best started indoors as seedlings. Allow 45-60 days for seedling development. The ideal time to sow eggplant seeds is late February (for mid-season hybrids) to mid-March (for early varieties and F1 hybrids).

Sowing Technique: Sow eggplant seeds at a depth of about 1 cm, preferably in 8 x 8 cm cassettes or individual cups, as eggplants do not tolerate transplanting well. If transplanting is necessary, ensure the roots are not exposed, otherwise the eggplant will not take root well and will be sick for a long time. The temperature until germination should be around +25°C. When individual seedlings appear, the film is removed, and the temperature should be lowered to +16°C for 5-10 days to stimulate the development of the root system. In the future, the temperature should be at the level of +20+26°C.

Choosing Varieties: It is important to choose regionalized varieties and hybrids, or those with ecological plasticity - that is, giving stable yields in various climatic conditions. The "Paleta Barev" mixture offers this adaptability through its blend of hybrids.

Caring for Seedlings: During the seedling period, eggplants need watering - abundant, but infrequent, once every 5-7 days. 10-14 days after transplanting (or from the moment of germination) and then every 10-14 days, eggplants should be fed with a complex mineral fertilizer with a high content of phosphorus and potassium. Before planting, the seedlings should have 8-9 leaves and formed buds.

Planting Out: As a rule, planting in open ground falls on the first decade of June, in protected ground - the 3rd-4th decade of May, since the eggplant is very thermophilic, and before planting the soil must warm up to a temperature of at least +20°C. The planting scheme for eggplant is approximately 60-70 X 30-40 cm. Before planting, the holes must be well watered, and the seedlings should be carefully removed from the container, planting without deepening. Eggplant has a strong stem, which makes it possible not to tie it up when grown in open ground, and in a greenhouse, eggplant is tied up.

Forming Plants: When growing eggplant, you should monitor root shoots and regularly remove them. It is better to form eggplants in a greenhouse in 2 stems, remove all stepchildren to the first fork and then in the axils of all leaves. If the stepchildren have outgrown, then they are pinched, leaving one fruit and two leaves above it. When growing in open ground, you can limit yourself to removing root shoots and lower lateral shoots.

Watering: The root system of eggplant is weak at a young age, but in an adult plant, unlike pepper, it is powerful, developed, but located in the upper layer of the soil. Due to the superficial location of the roots, eggplant is very sensitive to moisture, so you should monitor sufficient soil moisture and avoid waterlogging. Lack of moisture leads to the formation of small, deformed fruits, fruiting may stop completely, bitterness accumulates in the fruits. Water for irrigation should not be cold - not lower than +20°C. Eggplant can only be watered at the root, and after watering it is necessary to loosen the soil shallowly so that a soil crust does not form. Watering should be carried out once every 6-9 days.

Temperature: When growing eggplant, a temperature of at least +20°C should be maintained. At lower temperatures, eggplant stops growing, flowers and ovaries fall off. The optimum temperature for growth and development of eggplant is +25+28°C. Too high temperatures - above +35°C also lead to shedding of flowers and fruits. Air humidity below 40% even at a favorable temperature increases the shedding of flowers, especially with a sharp change in temperature from low to high.

Addressing Common Issues: Be aware that temperature fluctuations can cause flowers, buds and ovaries to fall. Insufficient pollination, dense, cold or waterlogged soil and irregular watering can also cause issues.

With a little care and attention, the Eggplant "Paleta Barev" (Mixture) will reward you with a bountiful and beautiful harvest. Enjoy the diverse flavors and colors of these unique eggplants in your favorite recipes!