Chris C
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Location: Central OK

What's happening with my Eggplants?

I'm new to gardening this year. Strictly organic. One of the vegetables I've planted is Eggplant. The plants came up just fine and started flowering quite some time ago. Then I started getting my eggplant :D .............but they get up to about 3 1/2" in diameter and stop growing. :( They turn leathery and get soft and die. :cry: Here's a picture of one I pulled off a plant this morning:

[img]https://chris623.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p1030242155-5.jpg[/img]

Can anyone tell me if I'm doing something wrong, or if maybe my soil has too much or too little of something?

plantkiller
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How does the rest of the plant look? How has your weather been and/or what kind of watering schedule is it on? Do you know what kind of eggplant it is? When I was shopping around and researching for what kind of eggplant I wanted to plant I saw one called I think purple blush where the fruit looked very similar to yours (it was a mostly white fruit with shades of purple/brown/black). Yours in the picture still looks a bit sick but the type of eggplant might be relevant.

Are you fertilizing it heavily (particularly anything high in nitrogen)? Excess nitrogen.. or drought or excessive watering can all cause problems with the uptake of other nutrients like calcium that are important as the fruit has set and is growing.

Just thinking out loud here. I too am new to gardening but I'm thinking if you added some additional info that may help some of the more experienced folks to chime in. I have been quick to find out how frustrating it is when your plants start getting "sick" so best of luck to you and hopefully someone can give you some direction in remedying the problem.

Chris C
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Being a new gardener, I can't answer a lot of your questions.

First off, the plants look good. (though dirty due to splashing from the last rain) The eggplants look good too...........until they don't! :? :? :?

Weather was a typical hot Summer in Oklahoma..........until about a month ago and it might as well be Fall. Daytime temps are in the mid 80's to low 90's.............nightimes are in the high 50's to high 60's.

No watering "schedule" as such. My soil is excellent and holds water well. So when I can't feel moist soil 3" under the surface, I water.

It is a Rotonda Bianca Sfumata Di Rosa..............whatever the heck that is!!!!! :D





plantkiller wrote:How does the rest of the plant look? How has your weather been and/or what kind of watering schedule is it on? Do you know what kind of eggplant it is? When I was shopping around and researching for what kind of eggplant I wanted to plant I saw one called I think purple blush where the fruit looked very similar to yours (it was a mostly white fruit with shades of purple/brown/black). Yours in the picture still looks a bit sick but the type of eggplant might be relevant.

Are you fertilizing it heavily (particularly anything high in nitrogen)? Excess nitrogen.. or drought or excessive watering can all cause problems with the uptake of other nutrients like calcium that are important as the fruit has set and is growing.

Just thinking out loud here. I too am new to gardening but I'm thinking if you added some additional info that may help some of the more experienced folks to chime in. I have been quick to find out how frustrating it is when your plants start getting "sick" so best of luck to you and hopefully someone can give you some direction in remedying the problem.

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SP8
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To my novice eyes when you see very round holes like that it's a sign that some kind of bug has bored into it.

Have you cut one in half to see what's going on inside?

Chris C
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Round holes, yes...........penetration, no. They are just surface holes. Nothing inside. (must have been a quick bite and rejection!) Though I didn't look inside this one, none of the others I've cut open showed any evidence of bugs.

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SP8
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OK.

It does look like something out of a horror movie though I must say.

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nes
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I thought bugs too, but the crack along the bottom sort of looks like inconsistent watering and the hole on the side maybe just looks like rot. The eggplant wasn't sitting on the ground was it?

Chris C
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No, none of the eggplant fruits are touching the ground.

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nes
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What a mystery! It's got to be some sort of mineral deficiency.

How was your soil prepared? Did you use any compost or fertilizers?

Chris C
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I raise llamas and have a lot of manure. I've been told that llama manure is possibly the best natural fertilizer available...................so that's what I used. I covered the bare ground with about 4-6 inches of manure (32' x 32' garden patch) and had a friend, with his big tractor, turn it under with a plow and then disc it. Then I cultivated it two directions with my Troybuilt Horse and planted. Admittedly, I've not tested the soil. But it's really nice. You can't compact it in your fist. Everything else in the garden (copious amounts of corn, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers sugar snap peas, tomato and cherry tomato) have been beautiful................and much better than any of my neighbors produce. That's why I'm so puzzled about this eggplant. We've had a pretty wet Summer, so I've not had to do a lot of watering. As mentioned previously, when I can stick my finger 3" down and not feel cool, moist earth, I put out the soak hose.

Chris C
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Thanks, Diane. I've kept the link and will check it out tomorrow when I'm a little less tired.

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nes
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Sounds like you did everything right Chris. I watered the same way this year since we had such a wet summer, I think I watered once in July and maybe 3-4 times in August :D.

If we can't figure this out you may want to try getting your soil tested through your local extension office. Presumably if you live in a rural community you'd be able to ask your neighbour if the soil is missing anything significant :D.

Blight is a good suggestion by Diane, but it says the crop should be shrivelled like a prune, that doesn't' look all that shrivelled in the picture.

Chris C
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I've been too busy to take the time to sit and "digest" the article, but if left on the plant long enough, they do shrivel! But one thing interesting is that everyone in my area seems to be having similar problems this year, so the problem isn't specific to my garden. (yes, I do live rural.)

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nes
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Figured you didn't live in the city with a ton of llamas :lol:

Chris C
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Didn't say a ton of llamas...............just a lot of manure! :lol:

Okay, I read the info in the link. Went up to the garden and checked out the eggplants. They didn't really exhibit any of the problems connected to Phomopsis Blight. But they didn't look all that good, either. In fact, in the last couple of days the leaves have started looking lacey. Upon closer examination, they looked like they had a lot of little hairy gray bugs on their backsides. Enough is enough, so I just pulled up all the plants and discarded them far away from the garden.

Guess I'll try eggplants next year! :cry:

Thanks for trying to help.

AndreaS
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Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 3:00 pm
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I have been having trouble with eggplants too. Seems like all sorts of critters are damaging them. Any ideas?



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