Why is it important to sow peppers and aubergines very early?

Chillies, peppers and aubergines have, at least, two things in common. They're delicious in ratatouille and you need to plant them early. These three vegetables from the Solanaceae family originate from Central America and love the heat. This taste for high temperatures may seem contradictory with the advice to plant them as early as February. So how do you go about it?

Respecting the maturity cycle

Their ripening cycle is longer than tomatoes. These vegetables come first in the sowing calendar. The seeds should therefore be planted in a greenhouse at a temperature of at least 18 degrees in a pot of moist compost. The plants should be cared for under cover until after the frosts, with daily watering using a spray bottle. It is in May, after the saints of ice (from the 11th to the 15th), that the young plants (which will be 5 to 10 centimetres tall) can be transplanted, keeping a distance of 40 to 50 centimetres between each plant. Transplanting is done in your garden or kitchen garden, in well-drained soil with a neutral pH, by burying the roots up to the first leaf.

In milder regions, aubergines can be planted directly in the ground in late spring after tilling the soil first.

Preventing Solanaceae diseases

If you notice necrosis on the fruit (Alternariose du poivron), then treatment with bouillie bordelaise may be necessary (use sparingly!). Downy mildew is not just the enemy of tomatoes either; it also attacks aubergines, chillies and peppers. Easily recognised by the whitish spots it causes, it can be effectively combated with horsetail purin, which should be sprayed on the plants every fortnight.

Regular watering

They do best sheltered from the wind and in a sunny area of the vegetable garden. Harvesting takes place in late summer, around six months after the initial sowing. Each plant can produce from 6 to 12 fruits. They appreciate daily watering, taking care not to wet the leaves. Mulching during the summer these heat-loving, often thirsty vegetables keeps the soil cool and moist. Abundant mulching with leaves or grass releases useful nutrients at the feet of the plants.