Eggplant growers out there?

[gardenbean]

HI!, I am attempting to grow 6 eggplants this year-I have never grown this vegetable before so I am charing unknown ground.

So far, I still have them on my south windowsill and they are about 5 inches in height. I will not take them out of my home until the temps here reach at least 70 and no cooler than 60 at night.........

I just wanted to know if anyone has some helpful hints to pass along about growing these veggies, as I have read they are quite fussy!!

[Handsomeryan]

I've never found them to be especially fussy. They can drink a lot of water when it is hot and dry, and if you leave the fruits too long the skins can get sun burned and discolored. Other than that I'd say if you can grow a tomato or a pepper plant you should have no problem growing eggplants.

Good call waiting to set the plants out. Mine have been out for a few weeks because I'm a terribly impatient gardener and the bugs have chewed the leaves and the wind has destroyed much of what the bugs didn't eat. They are just now starting to show any signs of new growth and I'd have probably been just as well to leave them in the GH and plant them out now.

The real question is- What are you going to cook with them? I love eggplant and I don't understand why it isn't more common in 'American' cooking. So much good food can be made with eggplant.

[csb]I got a box lunch at a seminar I was speaking at earlier this week and although I'm not a vegetarian- when it comes to box-lunches I feel you should always take the vegetarian option because the food is generally better. This lunch contained a roasted-eggplant sandwich made on ciabatta bread with an olive tapenade. Delicious. Looked a lot better than the soggy ham sandwiches on white bread with mustard that most people were eating.[/csb]

[orgoveg]

I grew black beauty last year for the first time and didn't have any trouble until the end of the season. I treated them exactly like my tomatoes and cucumbers. They got lots of water daily unless it rained (my soil is well drained). I added soil when the roots were exposed. I fertilized with fish emulsion once a month. They got a head start indoors for a month. Planted on last frost date.

With two plants, I got 7 or 8 fruits until they just stopped producing for some reason. That was plenty for me as I am the only one in the house who will eat them. I tried to give a couple away but nobody wanted them

I had 4 nice plants started indoors until a couple of days ago. I married a cat lover and her cats destroyed them all. No eggplant for me this year. No bell peppers, either. They got those too.

[hendi_alex]

Orgoveg, why not visit your local nursery and buy a four pack. Around here they are under $2.

[gumbo2176]

I currently have 3 different varieties of eggplant and agree with what all others have said so far. They are no problem to grow. I find I have to stake the Black Beauty eggplant since they are good producers of large fruit. I picked 6 Black Beauty yesterday that I'm using for a Shrimp/Eggplant casserole for this Saturday nights dinner with friends at my house.

I also grow Ichiban and they are great on the grill. Simply cut them in half lengthwise and drizzle a little olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and cook them till tender. The other variety is similar to Ichiban but don't get near as long with fruit that only gets about as large as a good size dill pickle. They too are great on the grill and their purple and white striped skin is an eye catcher.

[orgoveg]

Orgoveg, why not visit your local nursery and buy a four pack. Around here they are under $2.

Yeah. I'm funny that way. I refuse to buy plants that I can grow myself from seed, even if it is only $2.00. I enjoy the whole process and I like to save the seeds from year-to-year. That way, I develop my own strain that has adapted to my soil and growing conditions. It just goes against my grain to finish growing something that somebody else started. I know that is not logical to most folks. I just bought an early girl tomato plant because my wife complains that I'm always the last one to get tomatoes (I direct-sow them). It's the first time I have ever done that. I now might buy some bell pepper plants because my wife likes those, too. I suppose I might as well get eggplant while I'm violating my own rules anyway.

You see, I normally direct-sow everything. Since I started these things early this year, I didn't direct-sow them and now it's too late. That's what is driving me crazy.

[applestar]

Gardener Murphy's Law strikes again. Had you direct sowed them in addition to starting them early, nothing bad would have happened and you probably wouldn't have enough room for them.

Sorry to hear about your started plants. I know how disappointing that can be.

I keep putting out my eggplants out to harden off too early. The earliest ones that went out have yellow leaves and are not looking very well due to some 40's weather we had in between heatwaves that lulled me into thinking they'll be OK. I also have some still inside in the garage but they are being infested by aphids. Once all this rain is done with, I'll harden them off and hope for the best.

[orgoveg]

Aphids in the garage already? That bites (pun intended).

Yeah rain, rain again, and lots more rain. We just got a sudden cold snap to top it off. I'm glad I don't garden/farm for a living. Then again, I kind of wish I did

[gardenbean]

You guys rock!! Thank you so much for all of your helpful hints. I love eggplant and I really want to grow them this year.
So far, my "tender" as they are referred too in my home! are still on the windowsill waiting for those warmers temps to come around.

In the meantime, I have purchased for them large containers that are BLACK (having read somewhere??? that black holds the heat in and that they love heat)

[gardenvt]

gb, I grow eggplants in 12-15 gallon containers and they do just fine here in Vermont. I have a lovely SW corner that gets tons of sun. I feed the eggplants the same thing I feed tomatoes and peppers.

As for color of the pot, I used green the last few years but bought some new larger ones this year (at quite a bargain) and they are white/cream.
If you mulch the container, it will keep both the moisture and heat in.

A lot of people won't eat eggplant and I just don't understand. It is delicious roasted/grilled and I love to use them in frittatas for breakfast along with a bit of green onion, tomatoes and any herbs that strike my fancy.

Don't be afraid to take them out on a nice day - even a cloudy day. They won't faint with temps less than 80. In fact, mine were still producing into early October last year. If it isn't really windy, even a nice breeze will help to strengthen the stalk.

[gardenbean]

gardenvt-I was thinking about getting my "tenders" outside for at least a couple of hours a day before I actually put them out for good. To tell the truth I'm nervous to do so as it has taken me this long to grow them.......

[Rogue11]

This is my first year growing Eggplants. I selected three kinds for their size, shape and color ( Millionaire, Purple Haze and Little Prince). The Millionaire plant just opened it's first flower and there are 4 more flowers in various sizes growing. The Purple Haze plant is about the same size and is covered in flowers, probably 15 or so and several of them look like they will be opening at the same time.
My question is, will the amount of fruits that are growing on 1 plant affect the size and/ or speed of growing? in other words would it be better to pinch of a few flowers on the Purple Haze plant so that there will only be 2 or 3 eggplants growing at once, (I am wondering the same about my bell peppers) or does a plant only produce as many flowers/fruits as it can support at one time?

[gardenvt]

I let my eggplants/peppers flower and produce. It doesn't affect the overall production when there are many fruits growing. I had peppers and eggplants into Oct last year.

I remember my first time growing from seed and the plants seemed more like my children than the ones that I bought - it does take a long time to get them to transplant size.

The weather is often unsettled this time of year and we do have to take some chances so that the plants are acclimated to the outside. If the wind isn't blowing 20 mph, put the plants out. Start them in the shade then give them sun.

[tedln]

I grew from seed last year and decided I would will not try that again. They were super finicky for me to grow from seed. I stopped growing the large purple to black varieties like Ichiban and Black Beauty because they always seemed bitter to me even when cooked if I didn't draw the water out of them with salt before cooking them. This year I am growing a long purple oriental variety and a white variety. They were the last two plants my nursery had so I didn't have much choice. The big box stores only seem to have the two varieties I refuse to grow again.

I threw a Black Beauty to my Labrador retriever one day to see if I was being picky about the taste. He took one big bite and spit it out. He also will not eat bitter cucumbers like Straight Eight. Fresh cucumbers are his favorite veggie from the garden, but he can't tell the difference until he takes a bite.

I'm cooking some eggplant, yellow squash, and onions on the grill tomorrow. I may throw some fresh tomatoes on also. I love it when I have so many choices from the garden.

Ted

[DoubleDogFarm]

Aphids in the garage already? That bites (pun intended).

More like, "that sucks"

Sorry, back to eggplant.

Eric

[digitS']

HI!, I am attempting to grow 6 eggplants this year-I have never grown this vegetable before so I am charing unknown ground.

So far, I still have them on my south windowsill and they are about 5 inches in height. I will not take them out of my home until the temps here reach at least 70 and no cooler than 60 at night.........

I just wanted to know if anyone has some helpful hints to pass along about growing these veggies, as I have read they are quite fussy!!

If I had to wait until nighttime temperatures were a consistent 60°F, I wouldn't be able to set the plants out until late July. There were NO June nights that warm last year.

No, they don't like to be cold and they will really benefit from you taking a little extra effort while you are hardening them off. Tender critters, their leaves will also burn in too strong sunlight but their later garden location should be full-sun, I suppose. That's where I have always had them anyway.

I also find that green varieties are less likely to be bitter. Lighter-colored and whites seem mild as well. Of course, that mildness is why some people don't like eggplant. I think they are great at sopping up a good sauce in a casserole !

Be forewarned on this account: Colorado potato beetles love, love, love eggplant! . . . more than tomato or potato plants, they love eggplants.

Steve

[gardenbean]

So I guess it's ok in this case with eggplants to just baby them along......(which I don't have a problem with). I told myself this year that I will not "baby" my tomatos but instead will redirect that energy to the eggplants.