Content
Epic F1 is an early ripe eggplant hybrid with excellent adaptive abilities. Grows well outdoors and in greenhouses. Hybrid Epic F1 is distinguished by high (more than 5 kg per 1 sq. M.) Yield and resistance to diseases. With good care, fruits gain up to 300 g in weight.
Characteristics and description of the hybrid
The fruits grow up to 21 cm in length and up to 10 cm in diameter. Eggplants are dark purple in color, teardrop-shaped, with rare thorns on the cup, suitable for all types of home cooking, as evidenced by the enthusiastic reviews of the hostesses. The dense white flesh is well suited for frying, salting, caviar and salads. Read more about this wonderful hybrid in this video:
The eggplant bush grows up to 90 cm high. The lateral shoots are moderately spreading. For good yields, the plant needs a bush formation and a garter. You also need to remove weak ovaries. The fruits of Epik eggplant are heavy, so it is not recommended to leave more than 6-7 pieces on one bush.
Growing and care
The yield of this hybrid depends on the growing conditions and plant care during the growth period. Like all nightshade crops, Epic eggplant is grown in seedlings. Seeds are sown in mid-March in warm, moist soil (best of all, in a film greenhouse), and at the end of May, you can already plant seedlings in a garden bed. In the photo - an eggplant seedling, ready for transplant:
Seed planting scheme for seedlings - description
The seeds of the hybrids, including the Epik F1 eggplant, do not need preliminary hardening and treatment with growth stimulants. Growing eggplant seedlings consists only in correctly selected soil and subsequent feeding of young plants. It is enough to plant eggplant seeds in separate pots or in a greenhouse bed using a tape method. In this case, the seed planting pattern will be as follows: 60 - 70 x 25 - 30 cm. The first numbers are the distance between the seeds in one tape, and the second is the distance between the belts. The sowing depth of seeds should be no more than 1.5 cm. After the emergence of seedlings, the soil is fed with mineral or organic fertilizers. With timely feeding, you can achieve the same result as in the photo:
Landing in the ground
Healthy strong eggplant seedlings, about 20 cm high, are planted in a greenhouse or soil. Each plant should have 5-6 leaves. By this time, stable warm weather has already established on the street, the danger of unexpected frosts has passed, and you can safely take seedlings to the garden.
The planting scheme for seedlings should be thought out in such a way that both the roots and the bushes do not interfere with each other. Proper planting makes it easier to care for mature shrubs. Given the height and spreading of the plant, planting holes are dug at a distance of 60-70 cm from each other. The eggplant bed should also be at least 70 cm wide. The seedlings are planted alternately, in a checkerboard pattern. On average, 1 sq. m of land are planted no more than 4 bushes. This photo clearly shows how best to plant eggplants in open ground.
Given the abundant fruiting of the hybrid, more than 40 kg of large fruits can be harvested from one medium-sized bed (5 m in length).
Plant care
After planting in the garden for the first 10 days, eggplant care consists only in moderate watering of young plants "under the root". As soon as the bushes take root well, you need to feed them. For this, rotted manure, compost, ash or mineral additives are used.The fertilizer must be diluted with water, a shallow furrow is made around the plant at a distance of at least 15-20 cm from the trunk, and the solution is poured into it.
Re-feeding the eggplants should be done with the appearance of the first flowers. During this time, the plants will form into beautiful and powerful plants, which can be safely watered in the "irrigation" way, that is, simply by letting water into the furrow between the beds. Before watering, the aisle is cleared of weeds, and any fertilizer is poured there. Top dressing is repeated as soon as the first ovaries are formed on the eggplants.
