How to grow egg plants

1. 52

   kennedy warrenposted 14 years ago

   How to grow egg plants
   
   I am a small time amateur "farmer". I mostly grow vegetables. So far I have had no problems growing lettuce, green pepper, onions and tomatoes.
   However, my egg plants and cucumbers are not doing so well.
   What is the best way to grow these vegetables?

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2. 58

   TajSinghposted 14 years ago

   I am actually going to write a hub about this soon. Here are some tips from my upcoming hub:
   
   - Decide if you want to start from seeds or from transplants. Growing from seed can take 150 days before the egg plant matures.
   
   - If staring from seed, plant them indoors for the first 4-6 weeks.
   
   - When planting outside pick the sunniest spot, they love the sun.
   
   - Egg plants need soil that drains well.
   
   - They need a lot of room, don't overcrowd the plants. If you are planting many in rows then each plant should be atleast 18inchs apart and each row should be 30inches apart. This is a common mistake.
   
   - Use a potassium rich fertilizer if you aren't going organic.
   
   And as with many vegetables, water regularly and check for pests often too.
   
   I hope this helps!

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3. 76

   Skefflingposted 14 years ago

   Great points Taj! 
   
   Depending on your climate and location, (we are zone 5) we find heat does the trick.  A plastic-sided 2 foot high cold frame-wind break (with no lid) for most of the summer means we actually get fruit. Otherwise we have healthy looking plants that are maybe pepper sized but no fruit.  Unless it is a scorcher of a summer!
   
   Cucumbers like heat too but will scorch on a black plastic mulch.  The heat is just a bit too localized.   Ask me how I know ;-) We have taken to growing them vertically on a trellis, in a sheltered area and have no weeding at  all.  They also do best in hot years up here.

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