Your Ultimate Guide to Growing Brinjals in Your Terrace Garden!
Brinjal has different varieties and is usually a beautiful dark purple color and varied in size and shape.
Starting Brinjal Seeds and Transplanting in Pots
It's better to start brinjal seeds in a HYOFarms seed tray, as the seedlings take a good amount of time to grow. Fill up the seed tray loosely with HYOFarms seed tray mix and drop 3-4 brinjal seeds in each cup of the tray. Water the tray very lightly so that the soil mix is not disturbed. Now cover the tray with a polythene sheet and keep the tray in a warm place. Make sure that there is about a 1-2 inch gap between the soil and the polythene sheet. The plastic sheet helps in retaining moisture. In about 6-7 days time, seedlings will emerge in the tray. As soon as the first seedling emerges, remove the plastic sheet and transfer the tray to a place where the seedlings can get at least 4-6 hours of sunlight. You need to water the seedlings as needed. Make sure they are protected from direct rain and harsh sunlight. Young brinjal seedlings are susceptible to root rot. To reduce the probability of root rot, you may water the seedlings with HYOFarms Panchakavya/kadal pasi once a week. In about thirty to forty days time, when 4-6 true leaves have emerged, the sapling is ready to be transplanted.
Growing Brinjal in HYOFarms Growbag Stands
To grow brinjal in a HYOFarms Growbag Stand successfully, you need to limit the number of plants based on the size of the Growbag with a depth of a minimum 1 foot. If you are using a 1-foot-deep growbag, fill the HYOFarms Coco chips for the first 2-3 inches for easy drainage and fill the HYOFarms Potting Soil mix up to 8 inches and keep it ready before transplanting the sapling. If you have much bigger growbags, you can plant more saplings. To transplant, carefully take out the sapling using the HYOFarms Weeder from the seed tray and insert the sapling in the center of your Growbag. But keep at least 1.5 to 2 feet of distance between each sapling. Water the pot properly and place it in a sunny area. After about 7-10 days, when the saplings have adjusted to the new soil, it is time to remove the weaker saplings. Retain only one plant and cut off the rest of the saplings using a HYOFarms garden pruner. Brinjal grows in full sunlight, and hence the soil can dry out very fast. Keep the soil moist all the time and never let it dry out.
Tips to maintain plants and target more yields
Remove suckers: Just like tomatoes, suckers sprout in a brinjal plant too. Suckers are sprouts that develop between the main stalk and a leaf node. If left on the plant, it affects the yield and overall health of the plant. So check for suckers and remove them using hand shears regularly. It is a good idea also to remove all leaves that become old and start touching the soil. You can also prune the leaves that point towards the stem of the plant. Such leaves block sunlight to other leaves and also prevent airflow.
HYOFarms Fertilizers: Use HYOFarms organic liquid soil fertilizer every 10-15 days. During flowering, increase the frequency and use it once every 7 days. When you grow brinjal in grow bags, you need to make sure your plant gets enough nutrients at all times. Do not forget to add extra compost to your pot at regular intervals. Adding about 3-4 liters of compost for each plant every 40-50 days will keep the plant healthy.
Pest Impacts: Aphids and mealybugs are the major pests that you have to face when you grow brinjal in Growbag or on the ground. So check your plant regularly below the leaves. In case you find them, remove them with our HYOFarms sprayer. You can also use a neem spray or Pest controller pesticide like diluted cow urine to get rid of aphids. During fruiting, plants can get infested with borers, especially if the temperature is low. Spraying once a week with Panchagavya keeps borers away. It is a good idea to keep all your brinjal and tomato plants away from each other so that borers cannot spread easily.
Pollination: Brinjal flowers are self-pollinating, and they are pollinated with the help of a little wind. You can also tap the flowers gently to help in pollination if there is no wind. The plant tends to fall over during fruiting due to the weight of the fruits. So staking is a must for brinjal plants. Stake your plants before or as soon as flowers start to bloom. Staking will also help protect your plants from heavy winds.
Harvesting Brinjal Plants
Brinjal is ready to be picked up in about 15-20 days from the formation of fruit or 60-80 days from its germination. Press the fruit slightly to check if it is mature. If it is soft to touch, then it probably will grow a little more. If it is hard to touch, it has already matured. You need to harvest your brinjal when it is no more soft to touch. To harvest, do not pull it. It will not come off and will damage the plant. Use a pair of garden scissors to cut off brinjal from the plant.
Continuous Harvesting Brinjals
When you grow brinjal in grow bags, in about 5-7 months after the first harvest, there may be a reduction in size of the fruit and the leaves. When this happens, it's a good idea to cut off your plant from the top, leaving only 3-4 main branches and about 8-10 leaves in the plant. The best time for this to be done is during monsoons. Never do this in harsh summers. In a few days time, new and bigger leaves start to emerge. In about a month’s time, your plant will grow to its full glory again, and the brinjals that will fruit in the plants will be of bigger size. Thus you’ll be able to get tasty and nutritious brinjal round the year from the same plant.
Happy Gardening!
Starting Brinjal Seeds and Transplanting in Pots
It's better to start brinjal seeds in a HYOFarms seed tray, as the seedlings take a good amount of time to grow. Fill up the seed tray loosely with HYOFarms seed tray mix and drop 3-4 brinjal seeds in each cup of the tray. Water the tray very lightly so that the soil mix is not disturbed. Now cover the tray with a polythene sheet and keep the tray in a warm place. Make sure that there is about a 1-2 inch gap between the soil and the polythene sheet. The plastic sheet helps in retaining moisture. In about 6-7 days time, seedlings will emerge in the tray. As soon as the first seedling emerges, remove the plastic sheet and transfer the tray to a place where the seedlings can get at least 4-6 hours of sunlight. You need to water the seedlings as needed. Make sure they are protected from direct rain and harsh sunlight. Young brinjal seedlings are susceptible to root rot. To reduce the probability of root rot, you may water the seedlings with HYOFarms Panchakavya/kadal pasi once a week. In about thirty to forty days time, when 4-6 true leaves have emerged, the sapling is ready to be transplanted.
Growing Brinjal in HYOFarms Growbag Stands
To grow brinjal in a HYOFarms Growbag Stand successfully, you need to limit the number of plants based on the size of the Growbag with a depth of a minimum 1 foot. If you are using a 1-foot-deep growbag, fill the HYOFarms Coco chips for the first 2-3 inches for easy drainage and fill the HYOFarms Potting Soil mix up to 8 inches and keep it ready before transplanting the sapling. If you have much bigger growbags, you can plant more saplings. To transplant, carefully take out the sapling using the HYOFarms Weeder from the seed tray and insert the sapling in the center of your Growbag. But keep at least 1.5 to 2 feet of distance between each sapling. Water the pot properly and place it in a sunny area. After about 7-10 days, when the saplings have adjusted to the new soil, it is time to remove the weaker saplings. Retain only one plant and cut off the rest of the saplings using a HYOFarms garden pruner. Brinjal grows in full sunlight, and hence the soil can dry out very fast. Keep the soil moist all the time and never let it dry out.
Tips to maintain plants and target more yields
Remove suckers: Just like tomatoes, suckers sprout in a brinjal plant too. Suckers are sprouts that develop between the main stalk and a leaf node. If left on the plant, it affects the yield and overall health of the plant. So check for suckers and remove them using hand shears regularly. It is a good idea also to remove all leaves that become old and start touching the soil. You can also prune the leaves that point towards the stem of the plant. Such leaves block sunlight to other leaves and also prevent airflow.
HYOFarms Fertilizers: Use HYOFarms organic liquid soil fertilizer every 10-15 days. During flowering, increase the frequency and use it once every 7 days. When you grow brinjal in grow bags, you need to make sure your plant gets enough nutrients at all times. Do not forget to add extra compost to your pot at regular intervals. Adding about 3-4 liters of compost for each plant every 40-50 days will keep the plant healthy.
Pest Impacts: Aphids and mealybugs are the major pests that you have to face when you grow brinjal in Growbag or on the ground. So check your plant regularly below the leaves. In case you find them, remove them with our HYOFarms sprayer. You can also use a neem spray or Pest controller pesticide like diluted cow urine to get rid of aphids. During fruiting, plants can get infested with borers, especially if the temperature is low. Spraying once a week with Panchagavya keeps borers away. It is a good idea to keep all your brinjal and tomato plants away from each other so that borers cannot spread easily.
Pollination: Brinjal flowers are self-pollinating, and they are pollinated with the help of a little wind. You can also tap the flowers gently to help in pollination if there is no wind. The plant tends to fall over during fruiting due to the weight of the fruits. So staking is a must for brinjal plants. Stake your plants before or as soon as flowers start to bloom. Staking will also help protect your plants from heavy winds.
Harvesting Brinjal Plants
Brinjal is ready to be picked up in about 15-20 days from the formation of fruit or 60-80 days from its germination. Press the fruit slightly to check if it is mature. If it is soft to touch, then it probably will grow a little more. If it is hard to touch, it has already matured. You need to harvest your brinjal when it is no more soft to touch. To harvest, do not pull it. It will not come off and will damage the plant. Use a pair of garden scissors to cut off brinjal from the plant.
Continuous Harvesting Brinjals
When you grow brinjal in grow bags, in about 5-7 months after the first harvest, there may be a reduction in size of the fruit and the leaves. When this happens, it's a good idea to cut off your plant from the top, leaving only 3-4 main branches and about 8-10 leaves in the plant. The best time for this to be done is during monsoons. Never do this in harsh summers. In a few days time, new and bigger leaves start to emerge. In about a month’s time, your plant will grow to its full glory again, and the brinjals that will fruit in the plants will be of bigger size. Thus you’ll be able to get tasty and nutritious brinjal round the year from the same plant.
Happy Gardening!