Not so long ago, an unusual vegetable of exotic form and color, which quickly and confidently won both the hearts and the stomachs of those who like to eat delicious dishes, became the inhabitants of our market. It's about eggplant - a delicacy that came to us from hot eastern countries.
More recently, eggplant dishes took place only on the tables of grandees, and legends were written about the famous eggplant caviar. Today, eggplant is one of the main ingredients in the preparation of our hostess’s signature dishes, especially since it is not difficult to grow it in our own summer cottage. The main thing is to choose the right grade.
Read more about how to grow eggplant varieties: "Clorinda F1", "Prado", "Diamond", "Valentine F1"
Eggplant "Black Prince" feels the best in our area. Let us consider in more detail the description of the variety and measures of care for the overseas guest.
Description and photo
Eggplant "Black Prince" is one of the most original representatives of the bouillon family, which, surprisingly, does not tolerate neighborhoods with its relatives. This elite variety is distinguished by the truly regal size of the fruit and the elegant ornamental type of bushes. In the people, this variety, like other members of the family, is known as "Armenian cucumbers".
Did you know? More than a millennium ago, in circles of noble Chinese ladies, there was a strange fashion for a silver-black smile. To achieve the desired effect, they rubbed their teeth with eggplant peel.
Bushes
Eggplant variety "Black Prince" is a bush plant. The growth of its bushes reaches 60-80 cm, their external form is semi-sprawling, cut into short internodes. 
The epithet "black" has taken root in the name of the variety, due to its purple-black color of the stems and shoots that grow, dropping slightly down.
The stalks and sprouts of the culture are decorated with small toothed leaves. On the foliage scattered thorns are scattered.
Fruit
As for the fruits of the representatives of the royal family, they have an impressive size and elegant look.
To begin with, the ripe fruits of the "Black Prince" are covered with dark purple skin, which supposedly has been varnished with the option "glossy effect".
Important! This variety is quite fruitful. From 1 m² you can collect from 3 to 6.5 kg of fruit.
The average weight of the fruit is 200 g. Their shape is pear-shaped, a bit like a cylinder. The length of each eggplant is 18-20 cm.
Under the attractive skin, the tender flesh of the fruit hides, which has a light yellow color. The flesh is speckled with a small amount of seeds.
If we talk about the taste characteristics of eggplant "Black Prince", then, unlike other varieties, bitterness is practically not present in its fruits.
Characteristics of a variety
The main varietal characteristics of the overseas prince its rich color and remarkable fruit shape arein, the maturation of which occurs at 90-120 days after planting. The plant is of the same age, therefore for one season it is necessary to evaluate its advantages and advantages, and there are more than enough of them.
One of the main features of the culture is its abundant flowering, and, most importantly, the fruit is tied to almost every flower.
Did you know? Most of us know “Armenian cucumbers” as a pear-shaped vegetable of dark blue or rich purple color. But few people know that in nature there are varieties of eggplants with fruits of brown, black, yellow and even white color.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like everything else in this world, the Black Prince variety of eggplants has a package of advantages and disadvantages.
Traditionally, we start with the pros:
- high yield;
- resilience to diseases and pests;
- unpretentiousness in leaving and lack of whims;
- quite high taste;
- Eggplant bushes do not take up much space: for their full growth will not need a large suburban area;
- on a fruiting plant, new fruits are tied almost daily;
- low calorie fruits - 22 kcal / 100 g; almost 90% of their composition is water;
- the crop can be grown in greenhouse conditions and in the open field.
As such, the cons of this plant is practically not observed. There are just some whims that a novice gardener should know about:
- "Black Prince" does not tolerate the neighborhood of another kind of nightshade (tomatoes, peppers).
- Vital activity varieties are not possible in the shade, or in poorly ventilated greenhouses.
Important! Over-grown fruits of this variety can be a bit bitter, so you need to ensure that you get a ripe crop in time.
Grow seedlings
Growing eggplant seedlings is not a painstaking job. High-quality seedlings are easy to grow at home, you just have to follow some rules.
Timing
Choosing dates for planting seeds of eggplants, it is worth considering where you are going to grow the overseas guest: in the greenhouse, or in the open field. If you plan to plant seedlings in a greenhouse, the optimal time for sowing seeds of the Black Prince variety is mid-February. In the case when it is planned to plant seedlings in open ground, the seeds need to be sown somewhere in the middle of March.
Within 5-10 days, the first sprouted shoots will appear. Treated healthy seedlings are transplanted into a greenhouse, or into open ground at 65-70 days after germination. The February saplings are “relocated” to the greenhouse at the end of April, the March sowing in open ground - in early July, since at that time the danger of frost is almost eliminated.
Important! After sowing the seeds, observe the temperature regime. The optimum temperature for high-quality shoots is 20-25 ° C.
Seed preparation and selection
Experienced gardeners are advised to purchase seeds for growing eggplant seedlings only in specialized stores.. Of course, you can collect seeds from personally grown fruit, but there is a high probability that they will turn out to be unripe.
Immediately before the process of sowing the seeds must be prepared for this stage of their "life". First, they carry out the procedure for decontamination of planting material. To do this, seeds are soaked for 25 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate. After such a wellness procedure, the seeds are washed under a water jet.
The next stage of preparation is nutritious "sessions". The improved seeds are placed in fabric bags, which are dipped in a pre-prepared nutrient solution for two days. To prepare this solution will need to dilute 1 tsp. nitrophosphate in 1 liter of water. Nitrophoska can be replaced with wood ash. This procedure promotes rapid and high-quality germination of seeds.
Important! Be sure to follow the required temperature of the nutrient solution, which should be 25 ° C.
After the day, the seeds are removed from the solution and, laid out on a dry plate, put in a room with a temperature of 30 ° C for 1-2 days.
After these preparatory stages, you can proceed to the immediate landing.
Sowing scheme
Eggplant seeds can be sown in separate cups as well as in a special box filled with peat substrate.
Planting material is placed at a depth of 0.5 cm, in any case not more than 1 cm. Between the seeds you need to keep a distance of 35-50 cm. The planted container must be covered with film and transferred to a darkened warm place.
Seedling care
As soon as the first shoots appear, the container is transferred to a well-lit area and kept in daylight. From 18 pm to 7 am, the seedlings are covered with a dark film.
Eggplant is a heat-loving and light-loving culture, therefore, it is recommended to keep their seedlings in a warm, well-lit room. Otherwise, it will be unviable, sprouted shoots will reach for the light, as a result of which the stems will become fragile and thin.
Together with eggplant, you can plant such vegetables as peas, potatoes, thyme, cucumbers, spinach, basil.
Watering, feeding, shaping the bush
After sowing the seeds of eggplants "Black Prince" they must be watered once a week, heated to 25-28 ° C with water. The same watering norms are observed when caring for seedlings. The first sprouts recommend not to water, but to spray to avoid washing out the roots, since the depth of their planting is small. For the next watering it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the leaves of the seedlings.
EIf you notice that the top layer of soil under the seedlings dries out, you need to increase the number of waterings for a week.
If necessary, on the 7-10 day after germination, the seedlings dive into the substrate of peat and humus. This should be done very carefully so as not to harm the root system of the plant.
Eggplant "Black Prince" prefers fertile soils enriched with nutrients. Because of this, seedlings often need additional fertilizer. Feed seedlings immediately after pickingand then every 7-10 days.
Important! It is recommended to combine eggplants with irrigation.
The best eggplant fertilizers are: ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium chloride. In the process of feeding should strictly adhere to these dosages.
To increase crop yields need to help her properly form a bush. Rich harvest can be collected from the bush, which is formed from three stems. Above selected stems, it is recommended to pull the wire to which they are tied. The rest of the shoots are removed, but only after their length reaches 5-8 cm. In addition, it is necessary to remove the leaves that shade the flowers, because the fruit is tied only under the condition of direct sunlight on the inflorescence.
Harvesting and storage
It is possible to proceed to the collection of eggplants "Black Prince" only after the fruits acquire their saturated dark purple color and amazing glossy effect. Full ripening usually occurs a month after flowering.
Important! Many novice gardeners are mistaken, thinking that all the fruits of eggplants ripen at the same time. But this is not the case: the ripening process occurs gradually. It is recommended to collect ripe eggplants once a week.
In case of late collection, the fruit overrides and receives bitterness. Ripe eggplants are cut with a long tail (2 cm).
The storage space for eggplants should be dark and cool. To keep the fruit as long as possible, they are packed in plastic bags.
It turns out that in order to enjoy delicious eggplant dishes, there is absolutely no need to stand in line at the market and buy wherever the grown vegetable is. Eggplants can be easily and simply grown on your own summer cottage. The best variety for cultivation in our climatic conditions is considered the "Black Prince", which, despite its royal name, is not at all whimsical in care and pleases its caregivers with a rich and high-quality crop.
