Gadenin日本語Get the appWhy the fruit stop in midsummer
After weeks of cropping in heat the plant runs down: the roots age, it cannot take up enough, and the fruit stop part grown. That is the point at which cutting it back and starting the top again produces more than persevering.
| What the plant shows | What it means | The call |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit stop at two thirds size | No capacity left to fill them | Time to cut back |
| Dull skin, light in the hand | Water and nutrients not reaching the fruit | Water more; if it does not recover, cut |
| More flowers with short styles | The plant is running down | Feed; if it does not recover, cut |
| Small pale leaves | Aged roots, poor uptake | Root prune as well |
When to do it
It takes four to six weeks from cutting back to picking again, so the timing has to leave enough season for that. Work back from your first frost date.
| Climate | Cut back | Second crop |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | Mid to late summer | Early to late autumn |
| Average | Midsummer | Early to mid autumn |
| Cold | Early to midsummer | Early autumn |
In a cold garden there may not be enough time. Feeding and watering to keep the plant going is sometimes the better choice.
How to cut
Cut hard but leave leaves. Aubergine wood does not shoot readily from bare stems, and a plant cut back to nothing often dies back instead of regrowing.
- Take every fruit and flower off Pick everything, however small. Left on, the plant sends its resources to the fruit and the new shoots come slowly.
- Cut each stem back by a third to a half Take each main stem back to between a third and a half its length. It does not need to be neat, but always cut to a point with one or two leaves below it.
- Why the leaves matter New shoots come from the joints of the leaves you leave. A stem cut bare tends to die back from the cut instead.
- Remove thin wood entirely Take out branches growing inwards, anything thinner than a pencil, and anything damaged, at the base. The fewer shoots you keep, the stronger the new growth.
Root pruning and feeding together
Cutting some of the old roots stimulates new fine roots, and putting fertilizer into the same cut is what they grow into. Done together it is far more effective than either alone.
- Where to cut Push a spade in vertically about a foot (30 cm) out from the plant, to a depth of eight inches (20 cm). In a container, go in near the rim.
- How many cuts Two to four points around the plant. Do not cut the whole circumference at once. On a weak plant, two opposite cuts is enough.
- Fertilizer into the slot Put one to two ounces (30 to 50 g) of fertilizer and a handful of compost into the slot and push the soil back. A liquid feed poured in works too.
- Then water thoroughly Water well afterwards. The fortnight while the cut roots are making new fine roots is the period you absolutely cannot let it dry.
Root pruning is hard on a weak plant. If the leaves are generally yellow and the stems have thinned, skip the roots and just feed and water.
The month after cutting
Nothing appears to happen for a week or more. That is normal, and the mistake is to conclude it has failed and stop watering.
| Stage | The plant | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| First week | No visible movement | Do not let it dry. No shading needed |
| Two to three weeks | New shoots extend and open leaves | Tie the new shoots to the stakes |
| Three to four weeks | Flower buds appear | Second feed, and mulch the base |
| Four to six weeks | Picking resumes | Back to feeding every fortnight |
Choosing not to cut back
Cutting back is not compulsory. Keeping the plant fed and watered through the heat, thinning the shoots lightly and accepting a smaller midsummer crop also carries it into autumn, and in a short season that is often the better bet.
Either way, the requirement is the same: do not let the plant run short of water or food in the hottest weeks. Lose the plant in summer and there is no autumn decision to make.