Reflections on my 2006 Eggplant

[nctomatoman]

Second of my 2006 look back (following the format I used for Sweet Peppers in the Pepper forum). Note that all eggplant were planted in pots and staked (a few grew quite tall and were loaded with fruit - 2006 was a great year for eggplant!).

Winners:

Zebra F1 - just plain gorgeous (purple with marbled white streaks), very productive, perfect for big slabs (longer than wide, but wide enough for eggplant parmesan) - one of my favorites (I think it is the same as Purple Rain F1, which I've tried in other years, and is its equal in all respects)

Listada di Gandia - could be one of the parents of Zebra, as a Zebra F2 was very similar to Listada last year. Just plain beautiful with its glowing white background with dark purple stripes in contrast. Really produced great for me in 2006. another one that is longer than wide, but still wide enough for versatility in its use.

Black Beauty and New York Improved - very similar varieties, very familiar nearly black color - very wide at the blossom end, the perfect slicer for slabs - can grow very tall, yields pretty well. Fruit are much firmer and sweeter than the store bought eggplant of the same color.

Millionaire F1 - Though the plant was kind of straggly, loads of very long, slender black delicious fruit were produced. As in other black skinned slender types, the flesh is a very pale green. Similar to Ichiban and Orient Express.

Antigua - A more slender, similarly colored version of Listada, yields more heavily, can get quite tall, becoming one of my favorite varieties.

Not at the top of the list for various reasons:

Prosperosa - The fruit I did get were really nice - wide, nearly round, dark purple skin - but the plant has an odd growth habit, very dense foliage, lowest yield of all of my varieties.

Slim Jim F1 - I just didn't find that such small, slender eggplant were all that useful, and it seemed to get overripe pretty quickly. It did pump them out, however!

Thai White Ribbed - very unique, high yielding - nearly looked as much like the old white scallop summer squash as eggplant - flattish, medium sized, lobed. I just didn't find it all that useful in that shape and size.

Rosita - I really liked the color and shape, but it was a very shy yielder for me.

Apple Green - Not sure if I had the real deal - color was like a larger version of Kermit (darker green blossom end, mottled white stem area) - seemed to get overripe quickly (turning yellowish) - yielded well, I may have underrated it.

Bianca di Imola - a really nice oval shaped, snow white eggplant but did not yield all that well - maybe its location wasn't optimal. Deserves another chance.

Kermit - yielded great, pretty little two toned green golf ball size and shape...but what to do with the little devils?

Turkish Orange - and WHAT to do with these??? Very tall plant, white flowers, round dark/lighter green striped fruit ripen orange -get soft...when to eat them? A friend found them bitter.

I didn't grow a few of my favorites in 2006, such as Machiaw F1 and Lavendar Touch F1. I also didn't grow a few well known varieties that I've never found yield all that well - Rosa Bianca, Violette di Firenze, or Italian Pink Bicolor.