Eggplant Bourgeois: description and characteristics of the variety, cultivation and care with a photo

Bourgeois is an eggplant, which among gardeners is known not only for its excellent taste, but for its specific shape. The fruits of this variety are round, fleshy, looking more like tomatoes than eggplants. However, this does not make them more whimsical in cultivation.

Characteristics of eggplant Bourgeois F1

Technically Bourgeois is not yet a variety - it is a hybrid labeled F1, which means that it is in the process of breeding. You need to buy its seeds exclusively from trusted people who are related to plant breeding.Otherwise, the characteristics of the result may differ from the given ones:

• height - about one and a half meters, and sometimes more;
• bushiness is high, the bushes grow in breadth, therefore it is better to plant them at some distance from each other;
• yield is average, up to a kilogram of fruits can be harvested per square meter;
• commercial quality - up to 90 percent of fruits look presentable and more than fit for sale;
• early ripening - eggplants planted in May can be harvested at the end of August.

Bourgeois fruits are fleshy, round, about 10 centimeters in diameter. The skin is thin, dark purple, the flesh is white, no cavities, no bitterness.

Like most eggplants, Bourgeois is not cold climate resistant.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Bourgeois has the following advantages:

• decent yield - not all varieties give 5 kilograms per meter;
• unusual type of fruit - this does not affect the taste, but can be a topic of conversation and increase the chances of selling the original vegetable;
• gradual ripening of the crop - eggplants are harvested not all at once, but little by little, over a month after the ripening of the first fruits;
• resistance - Bourgeois is immune to certain diseases.

Among the shortcomings, one can single out a long germination of seeds - about two weeks. In open ground conditions, it will not be easy to provide them with favorable conditions all this time, because the entire future crop may die already at the initial stage.

Features of cultivation

For the Bourgeois to bear fruit, first, of course, you will have to try and plant it correctly, and then properly care for it.

Planting seeds

In order for the seeds to sprout well - and not just partially - they need to be prepared:

• Check for germination. You can lay them on a damp cloth and see which hatch in a week. Or you can lower it into the water and see which ones come up, then weed them out.
• Warm up. To do this, put a plate of seeds on the battery for a couple of days.
• Treat with a growth stimulator. Since Bourgeois seeds hatch for a long time, they are recommended to be treated either with a standard chemical agent, or, if you like homemade products, then with aloe juice.

When the seeds are ready, they can be planted in open soil, but only if it is already warm enough outside. However, it's best to play it safe and still grow them first into strong seedlings that can withstand the external conditions, even if they are unpleasant.

Sprout care

To get seedlings, prepared seeds need to be planted in pots or in any other container with earth. At the same time, you need to plant each seed in a separate container - eggplants really do not like to compete for useful substances, this reduces the yield.

Seedlings should be watered regularly - so that the soil is always slightly moist. You also need to fertilize them - usually combined fertilizers are used in small quantities. Before disembarking, they need to be hardened - taken out to fresh air for a couple of hours.

And all the time of growth, highlight with fluorescent lamps or special lamps for growing plants, because the seedlings love a long daylight and warmth.

Preparing the soil for planting

For Bourgeois to take root well, the ground needs to be prepared:

• fertilize with organic matter in autumn - this will enrich it;
• then sprinkle with limestone - eggplants do not like high acidity;
• under a layer of earth it would be good to put a layer of sawdust or dry grass - eggplants love heat, and this is the best way to insulate the garden.

In general, Bourgeois loves light soils with low acidity, well-lit places, no north wind.

It is important to remember that you can not plant eggplant twice in the same place - this increases the likelihood of diseases or pests characteristic of nightshade.

Planting seedlings

When it gets warm enough (the soil warms up to at least thirteen degrees, which usually happens by May), the seedlings can be transplanted into open soil. The procedure is simple:

• dig a hole as deep as a shovel blade;
• fill it with warm water;
• transfer bush from pot to hole;
• sprinkle on top of the earth, but do not slap, otherwise there will be breathing problems.

The first two weeks seedlings are watered every other day - young plants need a lot of moisture.

It is important that there are no more than three sprouts per square meter of holes.

How to care for eggplant

When the seedlings are planted in the ground, it remains only to properly care for them so that they grow into full-fledged bushes and bear fruit.

Irrigation and fertilization

Bourgeois is watered twice a week, under the root. The water must be heated in the sun, otherwise the roots will freeze.

Fertilize three times:

• two weeks after transplanting into the ground;
• when the first fruits begin to form;
• when the harvest starts.

For fertilizer use either combined mixtures that can be found in the store, or compounds that can be prepared at home. For example, an infusion of chicken manure, a solution of mullein, or green manure, which is obtained by leaving weeds flooded with water to ferment for a week.

Shaping a bush

In order for Bourgeois to grow well, you need to provide him with picks - pegs on which branches of a bush with heavy fruits can lean. It is also necessary to cut it - leave no more than five stepsons and no more than eight fruits, otherwise they will be small.

Eggplant is a culture that loves the sun, so if the leaves cast a shadow on the flowers, they need to be carefully trimmed.

Disease and pest control

Eggplant has a list of major diseases and pests:

• Colorado potato beetle. Frightened off by planting a number of horseradish, calendula, coriander, beans or basil. You can also pick it by hand or spray it with insecticides.
• Spider mite. Leaves turn yellow, dry and fall off. They are treated with "Nitrofen", sulfur, acaricidal preparations.
• Black leg. The section of the stem at the root weakens, turns black and breaks - it is not terrible for adult bushes, only seedlings. Treated with potassium permanganate.
• Late blight. It appears as brown spots on leaves and stems. Treated with copper sulfate.

Prophylaxis also helps - the soil needs to be cultivated.

When and how to harvest

Fruits are harvested at the end of August or September. Cut off, leaving 5 centimeters of the stalk, try not to overexpose, otherwise the pulp will be bitter and it will be difficult to eat.

Further storage

Fruits love coolness, they can lie no longer than a month and a half. It will not be possible to store them all winter, therefore it is recommended to roll them up.

Bourgeois is great for both home preservation and homemade dishes like vegetable stew. It can even be eaten raw.

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