Long Brinjal

Listing ID #4313126

The brinjal (eggplant or baingan or aubergine) is called the King of Vegetables by some cultures. It is one of the most versatile vegetables around, loved by many people across the world.
Different varieties are available everywhere and each variety is unique in its own way, with a distinctive flavor and many essential minerals.
Eggplant or Brinjal, is a very low calorie vegetable and has healthy nutrition profile; good news for weight watchers! The veggie is popularly known as aubergine in the western world.
Growing Information
Soil preparation
Because only a few plants are needed, it is better to prepare only the planting spot. Each spot should have a diameter of 30 to 40 cm. The planting spots should be about 75 cm apart. Turn the soil using a garden fork to ensure proper aeration of soil and to work in plant rests and weeds into the soil.
Brinjals do extremely well in soil with a high humus content.
Apply one big handful of 2:3:2 (22) per m2, and turn the top 20 cm of soil.
The optimum pH (water) for brinjals is between 5,5 and 6,5.
Reproduction
Brinjals reproduce by seed.
Seedlings should first be established in trays with 128 holes and then transplanted, or can be sown in small pots or in a tomato box filled with compost-rich soil or seedling mix.
The seeds often contain many empty shells, which are darker in colour, and which should be separated before planting.
Seed should be sown in 1 cm drills and covered with soil.
Start making seedlings from August to September in the North West Province and Gauteng.
Germination will take place after 10 to 14 days and the seedlings can be transplanted into individual pots 5 weeks later.
Kepp seedlings moist but not wet. Use a watering can with fine spray.
If seed were planted in a seedling tray, seedlings should be fertilised 10 days after germination, using a liquid fertiliser.
Transplant into the garden when seedlings are 10 to 12 cm tall. Do not plant weak, damaged or long- stemmed seedlings. The soil should be very wet.
Cultivation
Keep the planting spots clean by removing weeds.
Irrigate early in the mornings (at least twice a week).
Apply 20 to 30 g 2:3:2 fertiliser or liquid manure every month to 
each spot. Mulching will lower the soil temperature after planting. Apply every 7 to 8 weeks.
Turn the soil lightly after fertiliser application and water thoroughly.
Harvesting
Harvest the fruit as soon as it reaches a diameter of 7 to 10 cm (about 3 months after transplanting).
In the case of good irrigation and fertilisation practices, 10 to 12 of them can be harvested from each plant.
Brinjal plants are delicate and care should be taken not to damage the plants during harvesting (the stems are quite brittle).
Cut the fruit with pruning scissors. Handle with care to prevent bruising. Keep in mind that the shelf life of the fruit is not very long.
Special Notes
Benefits of Brinjal (Eggplant)
The brinjal or eggplant has a lot of vitamins and nutrients. It contains vitamins like B1 and B6. It also contains a good amount of potassium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, and folic acid. This high nutritive value of the brinjal makes it one of the most important vegetables.
1. Helps keeping diabetes in control: The eggplants are a very rich source of fibre and low soluble carbohydrates. Thus they are highly beneficial for regulation of blood sugar levels and also to control the absorption of glucose. This makes them the best option for people suffering from type 2 diabetes.
2. Helpful to the heart: The cholesterol levels are brought down to a great extent by the eggplant. It also helps stabilize the level of blood pressure. All this in turn lowers the risk of heart diseases. The body is also kept well hydrated thanks to the potassium content present in this vegetable. This ensures that there is no retention of fluids which prevents coronary heart diseases.
3. Helpful to the brain: Eggplant contains Phytonutrients which keep the cell membranes protected from any kind of damage and facilitates the message transfer from one part to another, thus preserving the memory function.
4. Helps create iron in the human body: We all require iron for proper functioning in our day to day life. However, too much of iron in the body is not a good sign. The content of nasunin that is present in eggplant helps remove excess iron from the body. This brings down the risk of getting heart attacks as it damages the existence of the free radicals in ones system.
5. Facilitates weight loss: Eggplant is considered to be high in water content yet low in calorie count. This feature makes it very ideal as a healthy diet for people who want to reduce weight. The spongy texture of the vegetable is what facilitates these characteristics, hence one must consume in its natural form as much as possible.