In a post a couple of weeks ago, I talked about growing our own food and why we are doing it. I decided to make a series of posts about growing vegetables from seeds and am starting with eggplants.
Eggplant have tons of of health benefits it a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin K,vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, phosphorous, copper, dietary fiber, folic acid, potassium, and manganese. It is also very easy to grow in a tropical country such as the Philippines. We have managed to maintain eggplants that produced fruits for an entire year, some are able to do longer than that through more thorough care of the pants. In this post I will attempt to give you a step by step instructions on how to grow eggplants.
What You Need
- Pots (Preferably lengthwise and not too small)
- Eggplant Seeds (Available in the groceries)
- Potting Mix (We use one part garden soil, one part rice hulk (burned), one part rice hulk whole, one part vermicast or compost)
First Step - Plant the Seeds
Make three 1/2 cm deep holes
Place three to four seeds per hole
Cover the holes with potting soil mix
Wait seven to fourteen days for the seeds to germinate
Water the pot once a day
Until the seeds germinate all these can be done indoor, letting the seeds germinate indoor is actually better for it removes the risk of being dug up by birds, frogs or insects. Up to this point there is really no need for sunlight. We also need not worry about frost in the Philippines and indoor is just about warm enough for the seeds to germinate. Not all the seeds will germinate so the instruction to place three to four seeds per hole.
Second Step - Give the Seedlings the Nutrients they Need
After a week from when the seeds germinate, thin the seedlings by gently pulling out the weaker seedlings and keeping only the strongest from each hole
Notice that in the picture, one hole out of three does not have a seedling. Out of the three seeds, only one germinated and died due to burned roots. So be careful when applying fertilizers, and do not expect that all plants will survive to begin with.
After two weeks from when the seeds germinate, start applying complete fertilizers.
Third Step - Transplant the Seedlings
As part of our learning, we transplanted three plants on the ground and three plants in bigger pots. We later on found out that eggplants are heavy feeders and planting them on pots would require more frequent watering and fertilizing. It is still fine to grow in pots, but it requires more commitment to care for the plants. In the subsequent pictures you will see some comparisons of growth and fruits from the plants on the ground and in pots.
Fourth Step - Budding Eggplants
This one is from the plant we transplanted to a pot. We water this twice a day and fertilize once a week.
The one below is from the ground, we water those once per day and fertilize them every two weeks.
Fifth Step - Fruiting Eggplants
Three to four weeks after the first buds show, eggplants are just about ready for harvest.
These are from the pots, in the one below you will see that the ones on the ground looks healthier and are producing more fruits.
The ones planted on the ground grew bigger, and had more branches.
The ones in pots just produced fruits for a little over six months, while the ones on the ground produced for a whole year. My busy schedule at work is partly to be blamed for that. 😂
As a conclusion, it is still best to plant eggplants on the ground and only grow in pots if there is absolutely no option to.
Sixth Step - Enjoy Your Eggplants
This is All in our Backyard, Here is Proof
I love its curry especially when its fried
I have onions and cherry potato. I felt bad that the cherry potato is dying already because it only lasts for three to six months only.
You're right. I tried onion once but failed in growing them. Must have done something wrong.
Onion I think is very easy. I just used chunks of onions and planted those on a huge plant box. Few days after, I have seen leaves growing from the onions.
Ooooh! I'm gonna try this one. Thanks for sharing @steemitph! :)
Go ma'am! You can ask me questions for when you do try. Thanks for the visit.
I love this. My boyfriend has become really interested in growing our own vegetables which comes in handy because I'm a bit of a health freak :D they look great. What else have you grown?
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Great guide! This made me want to try growing one, but here in Norway we can't really grow anything all winter, so I'll have to wait until spring to try it out.
I know Norway is pretty cold @valth but have you tried using plant pots... You can grow some vegs inside at a good temperature
Hey @valth thanks for stopping by. Yeah it is best to wait a few weeks after the frost. We are in luck that way, we can grow veggies all year.
That must be nice! Here we have to start in April, and if we're lucky we can keep going to September.
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That's some innovative work you do my friend.
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That is really nice. It's very good and healthy to eat veggies which you have grown it up. Well done @steemitph
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thank for your great information and post.
please upvote and follow me
Hi steemitph! :) looking good. i luv me some eggplant.. always wondered how to grow them. thanks for the help. :)
This really looks great!!! Love this post thank you. To bad I live in the Netherlands and we do have frost overhere. So have to figure out how I can grow them here in the Winter time. Enjoy your lovely veggies!
We have a mini-vegetable garden here too that our manang maintains- eggplant, okra, stringbeans, bitter gourd, pepper, tomato and malunggay we get practically free as she uses seeds from fresh veggies bought. Economical, healthy and pesticide-free.
nicely done :)
Those were fat eggplants!
I remember planting them directly to the soil. The result is okay based on the soil quality and sun exposure the eggplants gets.
Wonderful post @steemitph growing your own food at your backyard is always a best option...eggplants are very nutritiou and you beautifully outlined the processes... Thanks for sharing.
You must have a green thumb and a good soil as well. I havent tried planting veggies on my own yet, the last time I did it was way back high school. My mom knows a lot about gardening and she used to plant several veggies at our backyard too. That eggplant looks yum! ❤
Thanks for sharing it step by step. Enjoy those harvest. :)