Eggplants are popular and delicious. However, growing it in your own garden can be a challenge. Opinions also differ when it comes to squeezing out the aubergine – should you or shouldn’t you? You can find the answer here.
In a nutshell
- Excessive mostly useful
- larger, higher quality fruit is the result
- Do not exhaust the mini eggplant
- Always remove king flower
- Don't forget hygiene
Table of contents
- Does it make sense?
- When not to exhaust?
- Eat aubergines properly
- break out the royal bloom
- Pay attention to hygiene
- frequently asked Questions
Does it make sense?
At eggplants (Solanum melongena) is not absolutely necessary, but there are good reasons for it:
- Aubergines usually grow bushy and sprawling
- Foliage relatively dense, dries slowly
- the longer leaves remain moist, the greater the risk of disease
- on plants that are too bushy only few and small fruits
- more energy to supply individual fruits by pinching
Basically, one can say that cutting the aubergines to the limit has a positive effect on the yield and, above all, the quality of the fruit in most cases. Precisely for this reason, it can also make sense to reduce the number of fruit sets. However, it is not always advisable to go the extra mile.
When not to exhaust?
In the case of small-fruited varieties such as the so-called mini aubergine, on the other hand, you can do without the pinch. As a rule, they are allowed to bear more fruit, which are also supplied with sufficient water and nutrients. What you can do is break out the "king flower" - the first flower that has developed on the top first branch of the plant - to encourage the plants to produce flowers.
Tip: Incidentally, mini or baby aubergines are very well suited for keeping in buckets on the balcony.
Eat aubergines properly
Pinching is about thinning out the plants to concentrate their power for fruiting. That is why the so-called miserly shoots are removed. They cost the plant energy unnecessarily and would not contribute to fruiting anyway. So what should you pay attention to?
- Remove vertically growing stinging shoots
- in the leaf axils of the main and fruit shoots
- between the main stem and a leaf
- the smaller the greed, the smaller the wound
- Pinch off very young side shoots with your fingers
- stronger shoots with secateurs or a knife
- leave three main shoots with two to three fruit buds each
A notice: Stingy shoots on aubergines should not be torn off, because they are much more stable than, for example, on tomatoes and leave bigger wounds.
break out the royal bloom
As mentioned earlier, removing the king flower is an important part of pinching the eggplant. The bursting of this flower has the advantage that the plant initially concentrates its energy not on the formation of flowers, but on growth. This allows it to develop significantly more flowers later, which in turn increases the yield. There isn't much to pay attention to: you simply cut out the flower or carefully snap it off with your fingernails.
A notice: Without the queen flower breaking out, plant growth will be hampered and the plant will remain significantly smaller. You have the first fruit relatively early, but it is small and the subsequent harvest is rather sparse.
Pay attention to hygiene
Every cut and every nipping of stinging shoots leaves wounds on the aubergine, so that the There is a risk of pathogens penetrating or being transmitted from plant to plant can. In order to avoid this, one should also pay attention to hygiene when stinging. This means that the cutting tool used should be thoroughly cleaned before and after the cut, ideally even disinfected. Also, one should only use sufficient sharp cutting tools work.
frequently asked Questions
In addition to aubergines, tomato and pepper plants should also be regularly pinched for the sake of fruit quality. Also for zucchini and cucumbers this practice is recommended.
Externally, you can tell ripe aubergines by their intense colour, a smooth, plump skin and whether the fruit gives way when you press it lightly. The flesh inside should be cream with no green patches and the seeds should be brownish-green.
Under no circumstances should they be torn off or twisted off. It is best to cut them off at the base of the stem with a clean knife or scissors.
As good bed neighbors have broccoli, cauliflower, Kohlrabi, cabbage, beans, radish, thyme, salad and tagetes proven. You should rather avoid the proximity to tomatoes, potatoes, paprika, zucchini, pumpkin, raspberries and sunflowers.
