Hi Home Gardeners, today we discuss growing brinjal in pots. Brinjal which is also called as Eggplant or Aubergine is a perennial plant which belongs to the family of Solanaceae. It will be grown by many of us for its edible fruits. This will require a temperature which is warm and the native of Brinjal is Southeast Asia. Brinjal recipes are very popular. Brinjal is generally grown as an annual plant and the stem of this plant is straight and bushy. The leaves of the brinjal plant are large and are lobed in a slight manner. This plant has pendant violet flowers which are solitary and have a height of 2 inches. The fruit of this Brinjal plant will look like a berry which is having an egg-shape. The color of this fruit varied from red to dark purple, yellow, white, green and sometimes, this will also have stripes
Generally, brinjal will need a large amount of space for the purpose of their growth, but there is a chance for you to grow them in a Pot if you have a large one. Large amounts of sunlight are the main thing to keep your brinjal happy. This is especially because of the fact that the brinjal will survive in the soil which is warm. The soil must also be kept moist in a thorough way and should be fed with fertilizer and also organic matter. All gardeners should know growing brinjal in pots as it is very easy to grow.
Now, Lets us see how to grow brinjal in pots:
Preparation of pot:
You will need one pot for two seeds respectively. If you prefer to use seedling trays and other types of Pots which are made of plastic, then it would be easy for you to transfer the seedlings into Pots which are larger in the further stages.
The pot you choose must have a capacity of at least 20 liters and each brinjal should have at least 1 feet of space for the purpose of growth. Hence, it would be better if you plan to plant one brinjal per Pot.
Brinjal will love warm temperatures and the clay pots are the ones which restore heat in a better way than the plastic does. You will need to choose an unglazed pot if you can make sure that you would remember watering the plants often. If you know that you are bad at remembering to water plants, then go with the pots which are glazed. Unglazed pots will make the soil dry more rapidly than the glazed ones. So brinjal which is growing in the unglazed pots has to be watered frequently.
Compared to plastic pots, clay pots are heavier which makes it easier for them to support the mature brinjal’s weight.
Make sure that the pots have drainage holes so that they would help to drain out the excess water balance the level of moisture present in the soil. The holes of drainage will let the excess amount of water to leave the pot reducing the risk of root rot.
Scrub each and every pot internally and externally by making use of scrub, soap and warm water. If you are not interested in cleaning the pots, then it would be a risk for you as the eggs of microbes and harmful bacteria which are present in the pots may destroy your brinjal plants.
A better and simple choice to combine two parts of potting soil and one part of sand. The soil will provide the plant with nutrients which it requires whereas the sand will take care of the moisture control. You will need to mix a small amount of compost and 5-10-5 fertilizer in the soil for providing more amount of nutrition to the plant. A 5-10-5 fertilizer will consist of little concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium with additional phosphorus for the promotion of strong roots and to improve the Brinjal plant yield.
The brinjal plants will have minimum upward growth without any kind of support and as a result, you will get minimal fruit. A tomato cage can be provided to your brinjal plant with a good amount of support.
Read:How To Control Aphids In the Home garden.
Plantation of seeds for growing brinjal in pots:
Brinjal plants will need a temperature of minimum 13°C or more, which will be tough to provide in the outdoor location at the time of spring. You can start planting your brinjal plants indoors when April month starts.
Place the soil in a loose manner into your pot, but make sure that it is not getting compressed.
Make a hole of at least ½ inch at the center of each pot or compartment of the tray by making use of your fingers or a pen’s rounded end.
Two seeds have to be planted as this will improve the chances of at least one seed to sprout. When you plant more than two seeds, there are chances that it deprives the seeds of the nutrition and the need for rooting.
Now, drop additional potting soil on the seeds lightly to cover them rather than packing the soil inside.
Select a window which gets full sun for a minimum of 8 hours in a day. Full sun will provide the brinjal plant with sufficient warmth and light to improve the growth.
The soil must be kept moist. To see this, keep touching the soil to know if it has become dry. Make sure that you are not making the soil too moist, mainly when you do not have drainage holes to the pot. Learn how to prevent the soil from drying out easily.
In each and every pot put the two seedlings which are strong and cut another one which is present down to the level of the soil. Do not pull out the seedling which is weaker as this may disturb the seedling roots you desire to keep.
Transplantation in growing brinjal in pots:
Start preparing your brinjal plants for transplantation as soon as the plants reached a minimum of 15 cm in terms of height. You will only do this when the outdoor climate has become sufficiently warm. Brinjal plants will grow their best when kept in outdoor locations, even in pots as they will have more exposure to sunlight and can also be pollinated.
After this, you will need to set up a staking system in your pot. The feet of the stake it a tomato cage should be kept at the bottom of the pot in a flat manner. The stake has to be positioned in an upright manner.
Now, the pot has to be completely filled with the potting soil. The soil has to be packed around the tomato cage or stake and also ensure that the stake is helping in a firm manner in its place. You will need to leave 1 inch of space in between the soil’s top and the pot’s rim.
A hole has to be dug in the soil. It should be as wide and deep as the pot your seedlings are presently located in. The hole should be dug at the pot’s center.
The seedling which is stronger has to be removed from its previous pot. The seedling which is weaker should be thinned out.
The soil has to be made wet to make it compact. The soil which is moist and compact will make it easy for the transplantation to take place than the soil which is dry and crumbly.
If the seedling is present in a Pot which is made of plastic, you can remove it from the pot by bending the plastic and moving it up and down with some random movements.
If the seedling is present in a pot which is stiff, you may be required to slide a towel carefully into the side of the pot and take out all the contents present in the pot. The pot has to be tipped on its side and slowly, the seedling has to be guided out of the pot.
The seedling has to be placed in the hole present in its new pot. The seedling has to keep as straight and upright as possible.
The potting soil which is excess has to be packed around the seedling so that it would be fixed in place. Make sure that you are not pressing it too much using your force as it will damage the root system completely. You will need to fill the space which is empty so that the seedling will be in its place in a firm manner.
Once all this is done, water the soil. The brinjal plant must be provided with thorough watering but make sure that you are not allowing puddles to develop on the soil’s top.
Read:How To Grow Thotakura In Pots.
Caring your brinjal plant:
The pot has to be placed in a sunny spot. An outdoor location which receives full sun is a perfect one as both sun and light are important for the promotion of good yield. Brinjal plants will survive in the soil which is warm.
Make sure that you are watering your brinjal plant on a daily basis. In climates which are hot and dry, your brinjal plant will need to be watered several times in a day. Touch the surface of the soil and feel the soil by making use of your fingers and water the soil if it is dry. If you allow the soil to get dried, it will decrease the number of brinjal plants you can grow.
You can add liquid fertilizer for every one or two weeks for one time. You can use a fertilizer which is soluble in water and water your brinjal plant before you add it to the soil instead of adding to the soil which is dry. You will need to follow the instructions which will be present at the back of the label determining the correct amount of fertilizer to be used.
If you see that the leaves of your brinjal plant are becoming pale, you should increase the dose of fertilizer. A fertilizer with the ratio of N-P-K at 5-10-5 will help your brinjal plant if it is only lacking the nutrients and has no other problem.
Make sure that you are not digging the soil more than ½ inch when putting fertilizer. If you dig deeper than a ½ inch, it may cause disruption in the roots of brinjal plant which are shallow.
Make sure that you are monitoring the pH of the soil present in the pot. The soil which has a pH which is ranging from 6 to 6.8 will be able to fulfill the requirements of your brinjal plants. A pH meter or a litmus paper can be used to provide you with perfect results.
If you want to improve the pH of the soil, you can try that by making use of agricultural lime.
If you want to reduce the pH of the soil, then you can do that by adding organic matter like plant litter or compost or you can also use fertilizer which has urea in it.
You will need to tie your brinjal plant to a stake for the promotion of its growth in an upward direction. When your brinjal plants start to climb, tie the stem of the plant in a loose manner to the stake by making use of twine or thread made of thin fabric. If you tie the thread too much tightly, then it may choke the stem or cut it.
Monitor the plants for pests. Cutworms are the most common pests which will attach the brinjal plants, but they can generally be wiped off by keeping a cutworm collar on the plant. You can also use an organic pesticide to wipe off all the cutworms and other types of pests.
Harvesting your brinjal plant:
You can start harvesting your brinjal plants once you see that their skin is looking glossy. The fruit will stop growing and in many cases, you will be seeing it grow to the size of a large orange. The time period this takes will change based on the variety of brinjal plant you select, but your brinjal plant will actually be ready for the harvest within 2-3 months after the plantation of seeds.
Remove the brinjal from its vine by making use of pruning shears. The vegetable will need to have a stem which is short at the time of removal.
