Eggplant variety Diamond
Diamond is a time-tested mid-season eggplant variety. Designed for open field cultivation. From full germination to harvest, 110 - 150 days pass (depending on the region of cultivation). In the northern regions, it is recommended to plant seedlings in greenhouses and film shelters. The variety is resistant to drought and other adverse weather conditions. Suitable for mechanized harvesting. The authorship belongs to N.M. Nasrullaev.
In 1983, the Almaz variety was included in the State Register and approved for use in the Ural, Far Eastern, Middle Volga, Lower Volga, Central Black Earth, West Siberian and North Caucasian regions.
The bush is compact, 45 - 55 cm high. Differs in amicable and early branching, due to which a higher and earlier harvest is formed. The leaves are green, medium in size, broadly oval, the edge of the leaf is slightly dissected, the veins are greenish-purple. The petioles are green. Corolla is light purple. The calyx is greenish-purple, without thorns, which makes harvesting easier.
The fruits are glossy, cylindrical in shape, the length varies from 14.5 to 17.5 cm, the width is from 3 to 6 cm. At the stage of technical ripeness, eggplants have a dark purple color, in the biological stage they are brown-brown. Fruit weight in technical ripeness is 100 - 165 g. Greenish pulp, dense consistency, does not taste bitter. Marketable yield is 2.1 - 7.5 kg / sq. meters.
The plant is resistant to common viral and phytoplasmic diseases of the nightshade (mosaic, columnar). And also moderately susceptible to fungal diseases (late blight, fusarium and verticillary wilting, apical rot of fruits).
Advantages of the Almaz variety: high and stable yield, unpretentiousness, excellent taste and technological properties, good transportability.
Disadvantages: a large number of seeds in the eggplant, the lower fruits are in contact with the soil.
We have been friends with this eggplant variety for a long time, it always pleases with a high long-term yield. For example, this year, of course, thanks to the warm weather, the blue ones were harvested until November 2. Amicable, even ripening. The fruits are of medium size, which makes them very convenient for preserving and preparing various dishes. I would also like to note the high resistance of Almaz to diseases.
The advantage of this eggplant is the seed price, cheap and cheerful. Usually it is popular only with summer residents, due to the large number of seeds. For some reason, many do not like him, although personally I love the crunch of seeds in my mouth. But this year, many farmers have switched from tough Dutch seeds to our domestic varieties. And I'll tell you, we did the right thing, because the Diamond was developed for our droughts. Of course, the fact that it is a varietal makes it possible to collect seeds from it - this is terribly pleasing to our pensioners. My grandmother, having grown such a "Almaz", counted 1 million seeds in it)). With regard to its appearance, it has an oblong shape, which is very convenient to use. Therefore, this particular variety is known to every summer resident.
The most popular variety among amateur gardeners. Very unpretentious in cultivation. I usually plant two seedlings per hole, the bushes are small, but the stems are strong. And the vegetable is very fond of the Colorado potato beetle. After harvesting the first harvest, you have to pick off the fruiting and spray it. Despite this, there is always enough for conservation. With good care, it yields until autumn. The main thing is to collect the fruits young - and the skin will not become coarse, and the plant will have more strength for the next stage of the harvest.
The Almaz variety is quite fertile and affordable. This year the harvest was a success, only the Colorado potato beetle did not give the opportunity to harvest the fourth wave of the harvest. The first waves of flowering and fruit ovaries were treated with Aktofit in time. And there was practically no beetle in the garden, but he was on the neighbor's potatoes and waited for rain. When it started raining, the beetle climbed onto the eggplant. Thus, the fourth wave of the harvest was gone, the beetle tried. Despite this, I still managed to close everyone's favorite eggplant caviar, eggplants in adjika and just eat them fried.
Almaz eggplants are just lovely. As a young housewife, I chose varieties that were inexpensive, productive and could be consumed both in summer and in winter canning. We don't have much land, so yield matters. These eggplants sprout well, in comparison with other varieties that I have planted, they are more resistant to disease and drought. We do not have a greenhouse - I sow in pots at home in March, then I dive. At the end of May, I plant it in open ground. They take root easily and quickly. They love sunny places and moderate watering. Blooming amicably. The fruit is elongated, I like it, because I like to fry in circles. Good for caviar and other snacks. Moderately bitter. The seeds are present, but if you do not wait until it reaches full maturity, then they will be small and completely coarse. Plants bear fruit before cold weather - this is a plus.
This year I planted Almaz and Mushroom Taste eggplants. I was very pleased with the harvest. Huge purple shiny fruits did not leave anyone indifferent. I dashed the sea, gave it to relatives and friends. And when the July heat subsided, they bloomed again violently and gave such a huge number of ovaries that I was shocked. Collected in October, small and very small, as a sharp cold snap and frost was expected. Super eggplant, I will always plant. The next year I already stocked up on these seeds and also "Matrosik", this variety is very much praised. Good luck to everyone and great harvests !!!
Eggplant Diamond is a great starter variety, although it is generally recommended to start with hybrids. It was with him that I began my acquaintance with the culture and in the very first year we had a good harvest! On the example of Almaz, the difference between purchased and grown eggplants became obvious. Stable and productive, resistant to diseases, even in the North-West of Russia, where summer is unstable in terms of weather. Gives fruit quite amicably. The elongated shape of the fruit is perfect for cooking various dishes, from grilling on charcoal skewers to cutting into beautiful and even slices for rolls. The pulp is white, tender, the skin is thin. Well suited for processing, keeps its shape. We can safely recommend it as a promising variety for greenhouses.
Diamond is one of my favorite eggplants. They sprout together, the seedlings do not get sick. I spray it a couple of times with phytosporin. When transferred to open ground, the seedlings do not stop growing. Almaz eggplants did not get sick with late blight, when after long rains all the potatoes died and all summer they had to save and spray the tomatoes. I did not notice the Colorado potato beetle on them. It is possible that this is the merit of calendula and marigolds, which I sow between the holes. The heat that came after the rains also had little effect on the yield, the fruits turned out to be juicy, with dense pulp.
In the Ivanovo region, few people grow eggplants, because the climate does not allow, and these plants themselves are quite whimsical and capricious even in the best conditions. But some daredevils are trying to grow eggplant in greenhouses.Once I tried too. I chose Almaz as one of the most unpretentious. Sowed in the first decade of March, calculated two months before disembarking in the greenhouse, but planted it only on the twentieth of May, as it was cool. I grew seedlings in peat pots, because eggplant really does not like transplants. I added fertilizer, ash and humus to the holes. In the greenhouse, peppers were still growing in another bed, they did not interfere with each other. Watered once or twice a week, fed several times a season. It seems to have followed all the recommendations, but never got a big harvest. Few fruits were set, but they were too small, and I also had to fight aphids on plants (folk remedies did not help much, only chemicals). Perhaps the summer turned out to be cool, or I did not have enough experience, but since then I have not grown eggplants, I decided for myself that they were not for our zone.
I grew some seedless blue varieties on my plot, but my family members rejected it, so I returned to Almaz. The variety is unpretentious, especially for our south, what is relevant is that it does not require abundant watering. Always yields good and does not turn yellow when overripe. I put boards or old boxes under the lower fruits, since they really touch the soil. I like this strain until I am going to change it.