The Valentine variety eggplant was bred in Holland and first entered the register of agricultural plants no more than ten years ago. This means that it is a hybrid - a variety that has not yet gained popularity or established itself. It is impossible to propagate it at home, since no one knows what will come out of the seeds.
Description and characteristics of the variety
Valentina has the following characteristics:
- height - up to 70 centimeters, usually does not need supports;
- bushiness - average, bushes grow upward rather than wider;
- yield is average, you can collect up to 3 kilos per meter;
- The waiting period is short, only about 70 days from the moment of landing.
Valentina looks quite standard for an eggplant - up to 25 centimeters long, dark purple in color. It is distinguished by its thinness - up to 5 centimeters in diameter at its widest point. The pulp is light, without bitterness, if not overcooked.
Advantages and disadvantages
If you look at the characteristics, it is obvious that Valentina’s advantages are as follows:
- decent yield - of course, 3 kilograms is not 5, but still for a small private farm this is not bad;
- speed - you can harvest the first ripened fruits already in mid-July;
- pleasant taste - especially if you remove the eggplants before they become hard;
- presentation is one of the characteristics of the variety; it looks presentable;
- resistance to the tobacco mosaic virus is important because it allows you not to worry about at least one of the classic diseases for eggplants.
There are not many disadvantages against this background, only one serious one.
Valentina is a hybrid that cannot be propagated at home. Every year you will have to buy seeds again until the variety stabilizes and the results of growing second-generation seeds become strictly defined.
Growing a hybrid
In order for Valentina to grow and produce a good harvest, it must first be planted correctly.
Sowing seeds without germination
The first stage is sowing seeds. Since eggplants are very heat-loving, they are usually planted in small pots to obtain seedlings that are more resistant to external conditions.
You need to start doing this at the end of February or beginning of March, so that by the time it gets warmer outside, the seedlings will have become stronger and will tolerate planting well.
Seeds need to be prepared:
- check for germination - immerse in water for half an hour and remove those that float;
- warm it up - put it on the battery for a couple of days;
- disinfect and treat with a growth stimulator - you can do this at the same time, using, for example, aloe juice.
The resulting seeds can only be planted. For this, any container is used - from plastic cups to special boxes. It is only important that there is one container per unit, since eggplants do not like crowding.
They take soil with humus and peat, pour it into pots, dig small shallow holes and spread the seeds. Then they sprinkle the top with soil and cover each pot with cling film to create a greenhouse effect inside.
In ten days the first shoots should appear.
Seedling care
After the first shoots emerge, they are no longer seeds, they are already seedlings. They create a temperature regime for her - the first three weeks are from twenty-six degrees. Then during the day the temperature is lowered by one degree, at night it is kept within sixteen.
Additionally needed:
- light - at least ten hours a day, provided with a lamp;
- fertilizers - use something like “Kristalin”;
- water - you need to water every day if the soil has dried out, and the water should be warm.
Two weeks before planting, you need to start hardening the seedlings - take them out into the fresh air for a couple of hours a day.
Eggplants in greenhouses
Seedlings can be transferred to unheated greenhouses in May, and then replanted. It is important that at this point the seedlings are about 25 centimeters tall and have several well-formed leaves.
Place the pots so that there is 40 centimeters between the plants.Water two to four times a week, carefully, with warm water. Then they loosen the ground. At the end of June, the eggplants are examined for ovaries.
The largest one is left, the rest is removed.
The main difference between a greenhouse and a vegetable garden is the need for ventilation. Plants need fresh air, you need to start it in the morning and evening. If the leaves turn yellow, it may be due to lack of oxygen.
Eggplants in the garden
If you live in the south, you don’t have to waste time on a greenhouse and plant eggplants to the garden. The place for them should be sunny, protected from the wind. It’s good if carrots, peas, cabbage, beans or greens grew on it last year. If not, you need to fertilize it properly with organic matter in the fall.
Planting seedlings is simple - dig holes 15 centimeters deep, fill them with warm water and transfer a lump of earth from a box or pot. Then they sprinkle it with peat and leave it.
In the first days, you need to water the seedlings, as soon as the soil dries, then twice a week. Even in the first days, seedlings need to be provided with shade, otherwise they may burn without the habit of direct sunlight.
Plant care rules
Once the eggplants are planted, all that remains is to properly care for them.
How to water
Watering is carried out twice a week, and is combined with loosening and weeding.
Water with warm water, carefully, at the root, so that the leaves are not damaged. Then they select the weeds and loosen the soil, carefully so as not to damage the roots.
Top dressing
Valentina, like most eggplants, is fed three times:
- when two weeks have passed after planting - at this moment the young bushes are in great need of support and nutrients;
- when the first flowers appear - at this time the fruits are set, the plants again need support, otherwise they will turn out small;
- before harvesting - so that the bushes can bear fruit for a long time.
For fertilizer, they use either organic matter, such as chicken manure or green manure, or fertilizers that combine phosphorus and potassium.
Bush formation
In order for the bush to grow well, you need to remove the yellow leaves from it, and when the first fruits set, remove the small ones so that no more than 5-7 remain for each. Otherwise, there will be a lot of harvest, but the fruits in it will be small and not very tasty.
Valentina usually does not need support.
Protection from diseases and pests
The best defense is prevention. To avoid pest attacks, basil, mint, calendula and beans are grown next to eggplants. To avoid diseases, enrich the soil and make sure that no other nightshades grew on it last year.
If insects do appear, they are either collected by hand or poisoned with insecticides.
If eggplants are affected by gray rot, it is removed with “Horus”.
Valentina has immunity and therefore rarely gets sick.
Collection and storage
Valentina begins to be collected in July, when the fruits reach 25 centimeters. It’s not worth it later - the eggplants will be bitter, they will have to be soaked before using, and this will not necessarily help.
Cut with pruning shears or a sharp knife, leaving 5 centimeters of the stalk.
Store fresh for no more than a month, in a cool and shaded place.
The shelf life of pickles is practically unlimited.
