Description and characteristics of eggplant Faith, productivity, cultivation and care

The Vera variety of eggplant appeared in the register of agricultural plants no more than twenty years ago. This culture is specific: ordinary eggplants are heat-loving, but Vera is quite suitable for growing in the harsh climate of Siberia. Its germination rate, however, is low, which is why it is recommended exclusively for small farms that will use the crop in home gardening and not for mass sale.

Description and characteristics of the variety

Vera's characteristics look like this:

• height - standard for eggplant, from 75 centimeters to 1 meter;
• the spreading of the bush is small; with regular pruning it remains compact;
• the yield is also small, you can collect 1-3 kilograms from one square meter;
• commercial quality is high, the fruits are beautiful, smooth, attractive.

Vera’s color is dark, the skin is thin, the flesh is white, without bitterness - if you don’t overcook it. The weight of the fruit varies from 100 to 300 grams.

You can harvest the crop about three months after planting the plant in the ground. Thus, bushes planted in May can be picked by the end of August.

Advantages and disadvantages

If you look at Vera without bias, her advantages are as follows:

• resistance to cold climates - most other species do not grow in the north;
• early harvest - three months is considered a short waiting period;
• high commercial qualities - if you are still planning to sell eggplants, Vera, with its yield of ninety percent high-quality fruits, will do;
• stability - Faith is unpretentious, you need to try so that it cannot bear fruit.

There is actually only one drawback: a small yield of the finished product. However, for a private home and your garden this is not so important. The disadvantage becomes more noticeable on large farms, where Vera does not cover its own costs.

Planting and growing

To achieve the promised stable fruiting from Vera, you will first have to spend time and effort on planting and care. Moreover, they must be correct.

Landing dates

There are two ways to plant seeds:

• In open ground.Suitable only for warm areas where in spring the soil temperature at a certain point rises to a stable thirteen degrees. In this case, it is carried out in late April-early May.
• In seedling boxes. Suitable for cold regions where seeds cannot be planted, but germinated seedlings are fine. Sowing is carried out in late February-early May.

You need to focus not so much on the indicated dates, but on the soil temperature.

Planting seeds

Before planting seeds, they need to be prepared:

• Check for germination. To do this, they are lowered into water for half an hour and those that float are screened out.
• Warm up. The stove is not suitable for this; the temperature in it is too high. But the heating battery is fine.
• Disinfect. You can do this using a solution of potassium permanganate or aloe juice - in this case, the juice also acts as a growth stimulator.
• Treat with a growth stimulator. This can be not only aloe juice, but also a specially developed composition from the store.

The processing takes several days - you need to warm it up for at least two, and dry the seeds treated with a growth stimulant.

Treatment is carried out both before planting in the ground and before planting in boxes.

Growing seedlings

Growing seedlings is quite difficult - you need consistency and accuracy:

• Seeding Sow seedlings in any container - boxes, plastic cups, bags of soil. The main thing is that there is one plant for each container.
• Shoots. The container must be covered with polyethylene and placed in a warm place, where it will be about twenty-five degrees. The seedlings will sprout in about three weeks.
• Temperature conditions. When the seedlings sprout, you need to reduce the temperature to sixteen degrees during the day and thirteen at night.After five days, set a regime close to the state on open ground.
• Light. Eggplants love long daylight hours, so you need to extend it with the help of lamps - phytolamps or fluorescent lamps.
• Watering and fertilizing. Water regularly to keep the soil slightly moist, using only warm water. The first feeding is from a mixture of fertilizers containing phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, when the plants produce two leaves.

Two weeks before planting, seedlings should be taken outside for a couple of hours a day.

Choosing a landing site

In order for Vera to bear fruit well, the place must be:

• On light soil with a neutral reaction. If you have wild rosemary, sedge, bentgrass, buttercup or mint growing on your site, then the soil needs to be limed - it is too acidic. This is done in 3-4 months.
• On soil fertilized with organic matter. In the fall you need to apply organic fertilizers.

If you have a cold region, you need to insulate the bed - at a depth of 30 centimeters, lay it with grass or sawdust.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Regardless of what you plant, seeds or seedlings, you need:

• Make holes. Depth - 15 centimeters, distance not less than 35, distance between beds from 6 centimeters.
• Pour a glass of warm water into each well.
• Plant seeds or seedlings and sprinkle them with peat.

You need to plant either in cloudy weather, or make sure there is shade over the eggplants.

How to care for eggplant

When the landing is over, all that remains is to provide Vera with proper care.

How to water

Eggplants need to be watered every day or every other day so that the soil is always moderately moist. The water should be heated in the sun - you can leave it in a barrel just for these purposes.

Water exclusively at the roots, after each watering remove any emerging weeds and carefully loosen the soil around the bushes.

Proper feeding

Eggplants need regular feeding, and if there are not enough nutrients in the soil, then you can’t do without occasional feeding:

• If there is a lack of nitrogen, bird droppings are added. The leaves on the plant become smaller, fade and partially fall off.
• Phosphorus is added if the leaves turn a deep purple color.
• Ash (a source of potassium) is added if the leaves turn yellow and their edges dry out.
• Calcium is added if white stripes appear along the contour of the leaf.

The main feeding is complex; it is applied 3-4 times per season.

Formation of bushes

The bushes do not need supports, and no more than 10 ovaries are left on them.

Protection from diseases and pests

Pests on eggplants are rare. An exception is the Colorado potato beetle, which is repelled by planting basil nearby.

Diseases are also rare, and most often fungal. Prevention helps against them - the soil is treated with fungicides in advance.

Sick plants are removed from the garden.

Harvest and storage

The harvest is harvested at the end of August or beginning of September, and as the eggplants ripen, there is no point in holding them over, they will increase in size, but their skin will become thick, tough, and the taste will begin to taste bitter.

Cut carefully with a sharp knife or pruning shears, leaving 5 centimeters of the stalk along with the fruit.

Store in a cool place for no more than one and a half months.

You can eat Vera in rolls, raw, or in a variety of homemade dishes like ratatouille and vegetable stew, which is more common in Russia.