Eggplant! How To Prune And Hand Pollinate Eggplant | For The Love Of Garden

Pruning provides beneficial air flow, light, as well as easy access for the pollinators as it creates more flying space around the flowers of the plant. In this video I will share with you an easy to understand process for pruning eggplants. Let’s start at the bottom… Yes! You heard correctly.
STEP 1. Let’s start from the bottom and work out way up. We want to work our way from the bottom clearing the lower leaves away to avoid the plant from making any contact with the soil or other plants that may be planted around or below. This helps with back splash when it rains or when watering as the lower leaves aren’t there to be effected which could make the plant sick.
STEP 2. Next, work your way up leaf by leaf trimming each leaf at the base were it connects to the main stem. Carefully choose the leaves making sure you are only trimming the necessary leaves that encourage air flow and air space in the middle of the plant. More details in the video.
Once you are satisfied with the results Next comes Hand Pollination!
Hand Pollinating Description:
Hand Pollinating is necessary when pollinators aren’t frequenting your garden. This is why planting pollinator friendly flowers in your garden is so important. (Another video to come) Pollination of your garden plants is necessary to have a full harvest. Until the pollinators arrive lets go over the process of hand pollination for your eggplants.
Something to Know: You will have a short amount of time to hand pollinate your eggplant flowers as they will open but once they begin to close you will lose your window of opportunity. It is important to pollinate your flowers when there are freshly opening and with dry conditions so, not after a rain or when there is still dew on the flowers.
STEP 1. You will need a tool to transfer the pollen to the female part of the flower. A new and dry (non contaminated) cotton swab will work just fine.
STEP 2. Locate and identify the female and the male part of the flower. The Female will be the very center part of the flower that is like a stem. The Male part of the flower has yellow pedals and is surrounding the center stem (female) of the flower.
STEP 3. Gently and throughly rub the cotton swab on the male (yellow pedals) part of the flower then do the same with the female (flower tip) part of the flower being careful to use the same area of the swab to make contact to the female. This creates a transfer of the pollen to the female which creates a successful pollination.
Voila Pollination!
I hope this video inspires you to join the me on this journey and grow your own food! You CAN do it!
Have a blessed Day!
Angela
#Eggplant #Pollination #4TheLoveOfGarden