Brinjal seeds from store-bought fruit? (eggplant, aubergine)

[evtubbergh]

I actually have 2 questions; are baby brinjals a different variety or just small for some reason? The plant I had this last summer made huge fruit that were too green to eat before they were ready, which makes me think it's a variety.

I was opening baby brinjals tonight and there were all these seeds so I had to save some! Lol, it makes my husband role his eyes.

But, I am not sure that they will even sprout. I will do a sprout test with a few even though I will never be able to grow them now (it's too early) but of course I need immediate information.

I planted 'edamame' beans only to discover they are just immature soybeans so of course they have not sprouted. Sigh.

Has anyone ever tried this? I noticed that they seemed a bit flat but most do have a little bump. There were also white seeds in some of the fruit, which I assume are immature. I am drying them now so will attempt it but I'd love to know if anyone else has tried this.

I know they could be irradiated but I doubt it. Only imported fruit is irradiated and I think they are local.

ETA: brinjal is also known as aubergine or eggplant

[RamonaGS]

Well, I'm glad you explained what brinjal was. I was unfamiliar with that name, LOL I have heard mixed results from people trying to grow seeds from store bought produce. I looked into it, and whether the seeds are viable or not depends on a couple of factors. first, if the plant is a hybrid and was intentionally modified to grow sterile seeds. This can happen anyway with 2 parent plants that don't genetically match up to naturally produce offspring anyway. Another factor, is how long the particular type of vegetable or fruit has been commercially farmed with chemical pesticides. After years of exposure to commercial pesticides many fruits and vegetables are carrying sterile seeds.

And I would think baby brinjal are a different species than regular sized ones, but can't tell you for sure...

[applestar]

Eggplants are typically harvested when the seeds are soft/immature and the skin is still edible/soft. mature fruits have tough leathery skin and hard inedible seeds. So I'm not so sure that what you have are viable seeds....

But it's always fun to experiment!

[evtubbergh]

The seeds went dark so I thought maybe I could use them. But the germination test appears to result in fungus and that's about all. lol. They were quite flat so I suppose I should not be surprised.

[imafan26]

Eggplants will probably not sprout from eggplant bought at the store. When eggplants are mature the fruit is hard. Seeding eggplant will be hard and yellow. Seeds will be brown when you cut the eggplant.

[evtubbergh]

Thanks! That's what I wanted to know. I will look out for seeds in the shops.