Starting Eggplant

[daylilydude]

Well i'm getting my eggplant seeds started today i'm only going for 4 plants each of :
Long Purple
White Melanzana
Rosa Bianca
Black Beauty
My wife and i are the only ones that eat it so this ought to be enough for us and the soup kitchen in town !
What varieties are you all gonna grow ?

[2FrontFeet]

Black Beauty for me. 2 plants. Never had it before, so this should be interesting, assuming I don't kill it first.

[MawkHawk]

For me, repeats from last year:

Rosa Bianca
Diamond
Little Spooky
Fairy Tale

And if Craig sends me seeds:

Machiaw and / or Orient Charm

I've only grown eggplants twice before and only once successfully (last summer).

I love eggplant a lot. My wife tolerates it and my son hates it. So I really don't know what I'll do if I end up getting a ton of fruits. Last year the yield was not overwhelming so maybe 6 plants will be OK.

[montanamato]

Morden Midget will be the only new one for me this year.

Repeats:
Thai Long Green (Elephant Tusk)
Ping Tung Long
Applegreen
Chinese White Sword

I am the only eggplant eater in a household of 5, but we don't ever get too many at once...I usually rob the plants of tiny ones as they grow and grill them along with whatever else is on the barbie...

Jeanne

[GrowSeeds]

Black Beauty

I have been thinking of Little Fingers but not finding out some information about them. I was thinking they would make a good finger snak as they can be picked at 2 to 3 inches in lenght (least wise that is my understaning) then I would like to freeze them whole (triming off the stem end) as the 2 inch length size should have about the size in circumference most say to cut your eggplant for freezing not been able to find any info on that. Anyway if they can be frozen whole at about 2 inches length once frozen wrap them in cheese and roll with a cornmeal or cracker breading with parme cheese and bake or fry in olive oil.

NOTE: circumference I think is less than 1/2 inch on the 2 inch lenght

Anyway I don't know about freezing them whole but thinking about the cheese maybe instead of wraping the cheese use maybe a wine cork thing to put a hole down the the center and stuff with cheese then wrap with cornmeal or cracker meal with perme cheese and bake or fry in olive oil.

ot - I wonder if Okra would taste good stuff with cheese and baked or fried.

[gflynn]

Black Beauty is a work horse for us. We grow two in pots and its good for some grilling and Eggplant Parmisan. I thought that Black Beauty was OP is that true? Is there any trick to saving the seeds?

Can anyone suggest a better equivalent?

Greg

[CLa]

I would think it is an heirloom if not open pollinated, should be able to save seed somehow. I curious to know if Ping Tung Long is an heirloom.

[Worth1]

CLa
Some companies call it an heirloom some don’t, SSE sells it and so does TGS.
The best I can tell it is an F1 cross that is stabilized.
You can still have a hybrid that is stabilized and call it an heirloom.
As long as it meets the criteria for heirlooms.
Am I right?
And you know most seed companies won’t tell you that you can save seeds as they are in business to sell seeds.

Worth

[shelleybean]

Greg,

I grew up in Montgomery County, Md. and I think Black Beauty is perfect for there. You have the heat over a long season so if it's worked for you in the past, I'd say stick with it. Almost every seed catalog sells it. I have not saved eggplant seed myself so I can't answer that for you but if you choose not to save it yourself, you should have no trouble locating fresh seed through commercial sources. I believe Black Beauty was introduced sometime between 1902 and 1910 but I can't remember exactly when. I'm sure if you Google it you can get the exact year.

I gave up some eggplant real estate in my garden to make room for okra, which I haven't grown for about seven years. I'm only growing six eggplants this year. Half will be Rosita and the other half will be Apple Green, which will be new to us this year. I guess you liked Apple Green, Jeanne, if you're doing a repeat performance. The only other green one I've grown is Louisiana Long Green, which I liked a lot, but I'm looking for a different shape this year.

[giardiniere]

Last year I started my eggplant seedlings on Valentines Day, and will probably do the same tonight.
I'm planting three varieties; Listada de Gandia, Diamond, and Ping Tung Long. I'll probably end up planting 4-5 of each in the garden.

[Grub]

I have seeds for Diamond and hear good things, my Pink Long Tung are still producing, and Listada de (di or da) Gandia produced nice big ones. I'm hoping for a second flush frm them. So, great choice!

[montanamato]

Michele....Applegreen is good, but I grow it because in a short season it will produce...Last year was as good as it gets for warmth, and I still got very few regular sized eggplants, ao I am returning to Applegreen...If I had the luxury of growing any eggplant, I would be growing mainly large Italian types , but I settle for what I can get....

Jeanne

[shelleybean]

Jeanne, I figured your shorter season might be the reason for growing it. I decided to add White Beauty to my list too now so I'll have three varieties anyway. I'll start my seeds Saturday.