Lunar calendar 2022: growing peppers and eggplants

Peppers and eggplants have long occupied a worthy place in the garden not only in the southern regions, but also in the middle zone. To get a good harvest of these heat-loving crops, you need to make a lot of effort: select zoned varieties, prepare the soil, and carefully care for the plants.

Based on the gardener's lunar calendar, you can choose the most favorable days for working with any crops. It is believed that during the waxing moon, juices move from the root to the top and leaves. Therefore, during this period, astrologers recommend sowing and replanting peppers, eggplants and other plants in which the aerial part is more developed.

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When to sow peppers and eggplants according to the Lunar calendar 2022

Sowing of eggplants and peppers begins in the second half of February. First, you can sow mid-season and mid-late varieties, in which the period from germination to fruiting is 110-140 days. Early ripening varieties and hybrids in the middle zone begin to be sown in late February - early March. As a rule, plants that are about 60 days old are planted in the ground.

According to many astrologers, the most favorable periods for sowing are those days when the Moon is in the signs of Scorpio, Pisces, Cancer, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. However, some experienced gardeners sow peppers and eggplants also on Fruit Days, when the Moon is in Aries, Leo or Sagittarius. It has been observed that plants sown in Sagittarius will have high quality seeds, especially if collected during the full moon.

If the seeds are not processed and not covered with a nutrient coating, they should be prepared for sowing. To disinfect pepper and eggplant seeds, you can use biofungicides Fitosporin-M, Sporobacterin (soak for 6 hours, do not rinse), as well as a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or chlorhexidine (soak for 30 minutes, rinse with running water).

To improve the germination of seeds, you can also soak them for several hours in a solution of complex mineral fertilizer, then wrap them in a damp cloth, put them in a warm place and wait for them to sprout. Pepper and eggplant seeds are sown in disinfected soil to a depth of 10-12 mm.

If you grow seedlings without picking, sow the seeds in separate containers of 2 pieces. in each. When growing with subsequent picking, try to maintain a distance between rows of 4-5 cm, and between seeds in rows of about 3 cm.

After sowing, cover the seeds with soil, cover the containers with film, glass or a transparent plastic lid and place in a warm place. The optimal germination temperature for pepper and eggplant seeds is 24-26°C. After the shoots emerge, remove the film and move the containers to a well-lit place. In this case, the air temperature should be reduced to 20-22°C.

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Answers to frequently asked questions

Should I pick eggplants in March?

Everything depends solely on the condition of the seedlings. If a second leaf appears, then there is no point in waiting for April. We have to dive.

What if there are not enough plastic cups?

You can dive into any container with drainage holes. For example, tetrapacks for milk and juices.

What to do if the seedlings begin to stretch?

Seedlings are stretched due to lack of light. Provide additional lighting if necessary. You can also treat with a growth regulator, which will slow down upward growth and enhance “broad” growth.

Is it necessary to pick when planting in peat tablets?

No. But, if you sowed several seeds and they all sprouted, thin them out.

Can I use the same soil?

In general, the seedling is transferred with a small lump of “old” soil, but ideally it is better to pour new soil into the container, which has not been depleted by growing seedlings.

When to water and feed peppers and eggplants according to the Lunar calendar 2022

Peppers and eggplants should be watered as the soil dries out with soft, settled water, the temperature of which is at least 20°C. The first fertilizing can be done with complex fertilizer (Kristalon Special, Novofert Universal, AgroMaster, Agricola, etc.) after the appearance of the first pair of true leaves. In the future, fertilizing is carried out every 2-3 weeks, combining them with watering.

During the period of mass ripening of fruits, plants need large amounts of potassium. For fertilizing, you can use an infusion of ash (200 g per 10 liters of water), an infusion of nettle, as well as complex mineral fertilizers: Crystalon Orange, Agricola for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, AgroMaster 3:11:38+4.

Astrologers recommend watering and fertilizing when the Moon is under the influence of the signs of Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) and Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn). The most effective feeding will be on the waning Moon.

When to plant pepper and eggplant seedlings according to the Lunar calendar 2022

If peppers and eggplants were sown in common containers, they should be planted in separate containers at the stage of 2-4 true leaves. Depending on the time of sowing the seeds, this occurs in March-April, and in the northern regions - 2-3 weeks later.

Peppers and eggplants do not tolerate picking, so they need to be planted very carefully, trying not to damage the lump of earth surrounding the roots. Astrologers advise diving during the waxing moon, because... These days, the root system of plants tolerates stress most easily. The best signs for picking and transplanting are Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus, Pisces and Cancer.

Is it possible to bury seedlings when picking?

Is it worth deepening eggplant seedlings when picking and, if necessary, to what depth? This worries many beginning gardeners. Let's figure it out.

Let’s look at it in comparison with peppers, since they are planted with seeds almost simultaneously and then picked. If you bury pepper seedlings when picking, then later additional roots will form on the buried part of the pepper. Which in turn has a certain benefit, since the plant will receive additional nutrition.

The situation is completely different with eggplants. By deepening the seedlings to the cotyledon leaves, later digging up the seedling and looking at its root system, you can see that additional roots are not formed. From this we conclude that depth does not play any special role. Unless the plant itself will be more stable when picking out elongated seedlings.

When to plant pepper and eggplant seedlings according to the Lunar calendar 2022

For planting peppers and eggplants, choose a sunny area protected from the wind. Seedlings should be planted in open ground or a greenhouse after the soil has warmed to 15°C or higher. Approximately two to three weeks before planting seedlings, the plants need to be hardened off: open the windows day and night, if possible, take the containers outside or onto the balcony in a place protected from the wind.

When transplanting, pepper and eggplant seedlings are buried down to the cotyledon leaves. If planting was done in open ground, a frame of arcs is installed over the bed and film or spunbond is stretched.

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What kind of soil do eggplants need?

Eggplants are demanding on soil fertility, so you should purchase a special nutritious soil mixture from gardening stores for growing vegetable crops or specifically for growing eggplant seedlings.

But you can prepare the nutrient substrate yourself at home. To do this, mix soil from the garden, turf and peat, taken in equal proportions. To make the nutritious soil mixture more loose, 400 g of sawdust and 160 g of sand should be added to it for every 10 kg of mixture.

Before laying out the substrate prepared at home, it is spilled with boiling water for disinfection or taken outside in sub-zero temperatures for 1-2 hours.

When to form pepper and eggplant bushes according to the Lunar calendar 2021

Low-growing compact pepper and eggplant bushes do not need to be pinched. But if the plant is tall and lush and a sufficient number of ovaries have already formed on it, it is worth cutting off the shoots that thicken the bush. And at the end of summer, you should pinch the tops of the stems so that all the fruits have time to ripen. As a result of pinching and pinching shoots, the fruits grow larger, the crop ripens faster, and the bushes are better lit and ventilated.

It is advisable to form pepper and eggplant bushes on the waning Moon, when the night star is in the constellations Aquarius, Gemini, Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo and Leo.

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When to weed peppers and eggplants according to the Lunar calendar 2022

Weeding and loosening the soil in beds where eggplants and peppers grow must be done very carefully, since the root system of these crops is very sensitive to damage. Many astrologers believe that the best time to control weeds is the full moon, as well as the waning moon in the Earth signs - Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. You can also loosen and weed in Gemini, Aquarius, Aries and Cancer. To make it easier to care for plantings and reduce the number of watering and weeding, it is advisable to mulch the beds with peat, hay, straw, black spunbond or geotextile.

What containers are suitable for picking eggplants?

Containers for picking eggplants should have a volume of up to 250 ml. You can use ordinary plastic cups or peat pots.

Containers of the latter type can be planted in the soil along with seedlings - after abundant watering, such containers will quickly decompose in the soil and serve as additional fertilizer for growing eggplants.

Many gardeners use cut plastic bottles and even plastic bags to transplant eggplant seedlings.

When to treat peppers and eggplants against diseases and pests according to the Lunar calendar 2022

To prevent diseases of peppers and eggplants, observe crop rotation, do not thicken crops, remove weeds in a timely manner, ventilate the greenhouse, and prevent the appearance of insect pests that are carriers of many diseases.

The frequency of treating peppers and eggplants against diseases and pests depends on the chosen means. If you use folk remedies or biological products, you need to treat the plantings approximately once every 10-14 days throughout the entire growing season. Treatment with chemicals is stopped a month before eating fruits. The right time for treatments is when the Moon is in the signs of Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Gemini and Aquarius. Astrologers recommend fighting soil pests on the waning Moon, in the Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.

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When to harvest peppers and eggplants according to the Lunar calendar 2021

Of course, you can harvest peppers and eggplants all summer long, as the fruits ripen. But if you want vegetables to be stored longer after harvesting, then remove them on those days when the Moon is in “dry” signs. These are Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Taurus, Capricorn and Aquarius. It is also recommended to harvest during the full moon - the nutritional value of the fruit will be the highest.

Based on the Lunar calendar, do not forget to monitor the weather forecast and the condition of your plants. If the Moon promotes work in the garden, but weather conditions or health do not allow it, postpone all work for another day.