Gardeners, summer residents and farmers recently became acquainted with the Dutch hybrid eggplant Epic F1. It took the vegetable crop a little time to prove itself from the best side. The new hybrid is distinguished by its fruit size and high yield. Thanks to the short growing season, the plant can be grown both in the southern regions and in places with cold climates.
Description and characteristics of eggplant Epic F1
The vegetable is grown by gardeners for personal consumption. Amateur vegetable growers are also interested in it. They cultivate the plant to sell the crop in markets. It is not necessary to buy fruits, especially if a person wants to grow eggplants on his own.
Bushes
An adult crop has an erect stem. It can reach 1 m in height, usually the figures do not go beyond 65-90 cm. The eggplant bush has medium foliage. Green leaves have a red or purple tint. In size - medium.
Fruit
Ripe eggplants have excellent taste and have high commercial characteristics:
- average weight - 200-300 g;
- fruit length - 7-11 cm, diameter - 20-23 cm;
- shape - cone-like, oval;
- color - classic purple with glossy skin;
- There may be thorns on the eggplant cup;
- milky pulp with a small amount of seeds.
The collected fruits are suitable for fresh consumption and are successfully used for preservation and processing. From 1 sq. m per season, 6 kg of eggplants are harvested, subject to compliance with agricultural practices. The fruiting of the crop is long.
The last eggplants to ripen on the plant are covered with thick skin and are smaller in size.
Advantages and disadvantages
Most ordinary summer residents and growing professionals speak positively about the Dutch hybrid variety.
Benefits of eggplant:
- Resistance to sudden fluctuations in ambient temperature.
- Good protective properties of the immune system.
- A large number of fruits collected from one bush.
- Classic taste.
- Due to its high content of vitamins and other beneficial substances, it is used in dietary nutrition.
- Unpretentious in cultivation and care.
- Excellent culinary characteristics, eggplant can easily be processed in any way, including heat.
Despite the large number of advantages, culture also has disadvantages. Most often distinguished:
- Eggplant from a Dutch agricultural company is intended (in most cases) for growing in warm climates.
- In colder regions it does not tolerate low temperatures well.
- Harvesting an agricultural plant is complicated by the need to grow seedlings.
The heavy weight of the fruit can damage the stems. To do this, it is recommended to tie up the bushes, which also takes time. Agronomists also list eggplant storage as a disadvantage. Unfortunately, it remains fresh for a short period of time.
Features of cultivation
There are no special techniques for growing Dutch hybrid. Agricultural technology is a standard procedure, including obtaining seedlings, planting in a permanent place, watering and removing weeds. Hybrid Epic must be grown to produce seedlings. The yield level of eggplant depends on the place of growth, conditions and care.
Landing dates
The seed planting period begins in early February and continues until the middle of the month. Throughout the rest of winter and part of spring, the plant forms for flowering and fruiting. Dates may vary by several weeks depending on the climate of the region.
If this is a film greenhouse, the seeds are sown in the soil (necessarily warm and moist), and at the end of May, young eggplant sprouts are transplanted into open ground.
Seed preparation
Planting material needs disinfection. This procedure will avoid fungal diseases. You will need a 2% solution of potassium permanganate, 2 g diluted in 100 ml of water. Eggplant seeds are immersed in liquid and left for 20 minutes.After the procedure, they should be washed in cold boiled water and dried on a sheet of paper.
Hydrogen peroxide is also suitable for disinfection. After mixing 3 ml of the substance and 100 ml of water, the liquid is heated to 40 °C. As a rule, the manufacturer supplies the market with prepared products that do not require this procedure.
Growing seedlings
The seeds are placed in containers with moist soil. Seeds should not be deeper than 1-1.5 cm in the soil. Boxes or containers with seeds are covered with film, and the temperature in the room is raised to speed up the germination process. From above, the eggplant crops are moistened with warm melt water.
When sprouts appear, do not get too carried away with spraying, since excessive moisture can cause the plant to get sick and ultimately die. To water eggplants, use both rain and settled tap water. Seedlings need fertilizing, which is carried out 10 days after emergence. It should have a high phosphorus content. Fertilizer is applied every 2 weeks to speed up the growing season of eggplant.
Choosing a landing site
The largest seedlings are planted in open ground or a greenhouse. As a rule, their height reaches 20 cm, and each bush has at least 5 leaves. At this time, weather conditions stabilize and the threat of frost passes. The bed for eggplants should be from 70 cm to 1 m wide. Planting is carried out in a checkerboard pattern, per 1 square. m there are 4-5 bushes.
Plant care rules
Caring for the crop is the same as caring for any vegetable - everything is quite simple. The gardener is required to follow the watering regime and, if necessary, apply fertilizer. Inspect the bushes periodically eggplant for pests. Timely processing will help preserve most of the harvest.
Watering and soil care
Saturating the soil on which eggplants grow with moisture is one of the most important processes when growing a crop. There are two rules here - regularity and moderation. Excess moisture can cause fungus to appear. Too dry soil also has a detrimental effect on the plant, as it stops bearing fruit.
The land also needs additional care. In order for the crop to grow better and fully develop, it is necessary to remove weeds in a timely manner. During watering, a crust may form on the surface of the soil. To do this, the soil is loosened.
Top dressing
As soon as the bushes get stronger, you can apply fertilizer after replanting. Compost, rotted manure, mineral supplements or ash are suitable as top dressing. Fertilizers are diluted with water by watering the soil around Epic. The procedure is repeated for each eggplant bush.
The second feeding is done after the flowers appear. The appearance of the eggplant is a sign that fertilizer should be re-applied. New leaves appear on the stems, the bushes themselves become lush and beautiful. Fertilizers should be applied after weeding the rows. The third and final feeding is done after the ovary has formed.
Diseases and pests
Hybrid eggplant Epic is rarely affected by diseases. The most dangerous for it are: blackleg, late blight and gray rot. To avoid the development of diseases, before planting the plant and harvesting the fruits, the ground is treated with copper sulfate.
Experienced farmers recommend adhering to the rules of agricultural technology and observing crop rotation. This is a kind of prevention that will help avoid the development of diseases.
Among the pests that love eggplant are the Colorado potato beetle, spider mite and slug. In the first and last cases, you can do without any treatment drugs, since the parasites are collected manually and destroyed. If there are a lot of slugs, the soil is sprinkled with tobacco dust, lime and ash. To prevent spider mites from infecting plants, treatment is carried out using special preparations. As a rule, they decompose quickly and do not harm human health.
The Colorado potato beetle does not like the smell of basil and marigolds. Therefore, to make it a rare guest in the eggplant bed, these plants are planted nearby.
Harvest and storage
Ripe eggplants can be harvested 25-30 days after flowering. The moment of harvesting the first harvest falls in August. Epic fruits are removed from the garden once every 3 days, since the ripening of the Dutch hybrid occurs gradually. Breaking off the stalk often causes damage to the stems, which affects the quality of future eggplant fruits. Therefore, in order not to further injure the crop, they use pruning shears.
Fresh storage of fruits is short - only 3 weeks. If you adhere to a number of the following rules, you can increase the period to 3 months:
- there should not be a drop of moisture on ripe fruits;
- lay out vegetables in one layer;
- store in a cool and dark place;
- Throw away spoiled ones every 3 weeks.
If a small amount of fairly elastic fruit remains, they are stored in other conditions. Each eggplant is wrapped in paper so that they touch each other. Newspapers or a sheet of A4 paper are also used as wrapping. Vegetables are laid out in boxes with straw in one layer, and covered with burlap on top. This method will keep the fruits fresh until the onset of winter cold.
Eggplant F1 from Dutch breeders is chosen by novice and professional gardeners. To get early fruits of a beautiful purple color, simple but careful and caring care is required.
