Description
How To Grow Brinjal From Seeds:
Introduction and Uses: Brinjal belongs to the nightshade family. It is rich in fiber, potassium, vitamin B-6 and phytonutrients like flavonoids. The antioxidants in this vegetable keep the arteries healthy and lower the risk of cardiac diseases. The eggplant is high in water content and hence keeps the body hydrated.
Botanical Name: Solanum melongena
Sowing Season: Throughout the year.
Sowing method: Transplantation.
First harvest: 10 to 12 weeks
Because the seeds are small, Brinjal plant is grown by transplantation method. Seeds are first sown indoors in seedling trays or outdoors on seed beds. Later the seedlings are transplanted into containers or in raised beds.
Sowing container: Seedling trays/ seed cups/ small polybags/ Seed bed.
Sowing medium: Coco Peat (Indoors), Fine soil (Outdoors)
STEPS FOR SEED SOWING (SEED STARTING) IN A CONTAINER:
Take a seedling tray with medium sized cells & drainage holes at the bottom.Fill the cells/cups with a moist coco-peat medium.Hold the Brinjal seeds in your left palm & sow 2-3 seeds per cell/cup. Since Brinjal seeds are small, avoid sowing them very deep.
Sowing Technique:
Place the seeds on the surface of the medium & push each seed a little inside the medium by using pencil tip, so that seeds are not visible on the surface anymore & cover it with more coco-peat.Or make small, shallow depressions on medium with pencil bottom. Put the seed in that depression & sprinkle more coco-peat on the top to cover the seed.Keep the seedling tray indoors till the seeds germinate.
Covering: Keep the seed tray in a box or cover it with paper for first 4-5 days to encourage faster seed germination.
Watering:
Water the seed cells with a spoon in the first week. Provide two tablespoons of water every day.Or keep the seedling tray in another tray full of water for half an hour, so that water will seed cells will absorb the water from the bottom, via drainage holes.If the seed beds are made outdoors, protect them from heavy rain or direct sunlight. Use well sieved fine soil as a sowing medium & make a nice raised bed from it. Cover the bed by making a temporary roof of the plastic sheet. Water it in the form of a light shower by watering can.
