My first ever hand-sown eggplant ! - Page 2

Tomstrees · April 3, 2008

FINALLY !!! Germination for Casper !!! Come one Violetta Lunga !!!

~ Tom

soleado · April 4, 2008

Congratulations! I too have recently sprouted eggplant. I can't believe it, because I've always read it can be tricky. I hope it likes the heat here in Georgia. The variety I sowed was the common black beauty. Good luck everyone.

rxkeith · April 4, 2008

i have never had a problem sprouting eggplant. i treat them as i do peppers, and tomatos. they seem to take their time getting going early on though. it took nearly a month for my unknown iranian variety to come up. my 3 other varieties came up over a 3 week period. germination has been very good with seeds up to 5 years old.

keith

Tomstrees · April 4, 2008

Glad you posted Keith - as I just found out that the variety that hasn't come up yet is from 2004. I may need to resow!

Hope all is well,

~ Tom

jhp · April 9, 2008

I too have sown my very first eggplant seeds. Sowed them a week ago today and almost all are up as of this morning. I am growing Ping Tung Long and Lavender Touch. I had planned to grow them in an earth box, is the wet feet thing something I should worry about? I could always stick them in a pot. I don't want to kill my first eggplant babies. I've never even grown eggplant before.

Any thoughts on the wet feet/earth box issue?

Thanks,

Jen

Tomstrees · April 10, 2008

Jen,

Very good question as I've ordered a few earthboxes with a coworker and plan on growing 3 eggys in one of them on the patio.

My neighbor ONLY grows in earhtboxes - & every season has been stellar for him but last season: his eggplants were black in the middle - only thing I can come up with after doing some reading about earhtboxes is he may have "over watered" them - and as I'm reading eggys don't like wet feet.

Gonna really have to test these things this season. Maybe we shouldn't fill them "all the way" to prevent "too wet" of feet ... hmmmmmm

~ Tom

jhp · April 11, 2008

Since I only have 3 earth boxes, maybe I'll use them for something that I know will like it in there. I think I'm gonna put my eggplants in regular pots or in one of my regular raised beds. Glad I came across this post.

Thanks,

Jen

Tomstrees · April 17, 2008

When potting up eggplants, can you plant them deeper like tomatoes?

~ Tom

bryanccfshr · April 25, 2008

This is my first year growing eggplant I started from seed as well Tom.(these were far more difficult to germinate to me compared to peppers, they seem to NEED heat) I am culturing mine like peppers as far as planting depth etc. I am growing Black beuty and early long varieties. I do enjoy eating eggplant so this is a wonderfull little project.

barkeater · May 3, 2008

Tom, why don't you grow your eggplant in the ground? New Jersey isn't the eggplant growing capital of the world for nothing!

Eggplants love 3 things: NJ soil (sandy soil with good drainage), lots of heat, and lots of water.

Maybe 4 things ;-) They love 10-10-10 fertilizer.

jhp · May 31, 2008

Okay, I haven't gotten around to planting my eggplants yet, but I don't think that's a bad thing since our weather has been so cooky and we've had some cold nights. I am planning to plant this weekend. Tired of babying seedlings in cups. I ended up with 7 seedlings. I'm wondering how many fruits does an eggplant produce? I wasn't originally planning to grow that many,but well, now that they are here and look like fabulous little seedlings... But I don't want to end up with a ton of eggplant since we've never eaten a lot of eggplant. I am planning to try out some recipes and see how it goes.

So my question is, how many fruits does an eggplant produce?

Jen

Tomstrees · June 2, 2008

Bark,

YOU TALKED ME INTO IT ! EGGY IS IN THE GARDEN !!!

~ Tom

beck3465 · June 2, 2008

I started my eggplant from seed this year, the last two years I bought plants. I was SOOOOO excited when the first little round true leaves showed. My husband thinks I'm insane to get so excited over plants...I bought my seed from TGS. I'm growing Black Beauty and Listada de Gandia which is an Italian white and purple. They are doing super in 14 gallon containers, two per container. Four plants usually produce more than enough for my family of four. Congrats Tom on your new eggplants... Enjoy!!!!
Becky

jhp · July 20, 2008

They're here! My first eggplants, from my first sown seeds, my first time growing eggplants. Yay!

Left is Pingtung Long about 3 inches, right is Lavender Touch a bit bigger. Have yet to harvest any. These are the first. Lots of flowers on the plants. I have visions of an eggplant avalanche.

LenaBeanNZ · July 9, 2009

How did the harvest shape up then? Are you growing eggplants again this season?

Im about to start my first seeds... Little Fingers and Black Beauty

April 3, 2008	#16
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	FINALLY !!! Germination for Casper !!! Come one Violetta Lunga !!! ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

April 4, 2008	#19
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Glad you posted Keith - as I just found out that the variety that hasn't come up yet is from 2004. I may need to resow! Hope all is well, ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

April 10, 2008	#21
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Jen, Very good question as I've ordered a few earthboxes with a coworker and plan on growing 3 eggys in one of them on the patio. My neighbor ONLY grows in earhtboxes - & every season has been stellar for him but last season: his eggplants were black in the middle - only thing I can come up with after doing some reading about earhtboxes is he may have "over watered" them - and as I'm reading eggys don't like wet feet. Gonna really have to test these things this season. Maybe we shouldn't fill them "all the way" to prevent "too wet" of feet ... hmmmmmm ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

April 17, 2008	#23
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	When potting up eggplants, can you plant them deeper like tomatoes? ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

April 25, 2008	#24
bryanccfshr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Farmington, Nm Posts: 450	This is my first year growing eggplant I started from seed as well Tom.(these were far more difficult to germinate to me compared to peppers, they seem to NEED heat) I am culturing mine like peppers as far as planting depth etc. I am growing Black beuty and early long varieties. I do enjoy eating eggplant so this is a wonderfull little project. __________________ I moved!

April 4, 2008	#17
soleado Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Northern Georgia, USA Posts: 10	Congratulations! I too have recently sprouted eggplant. I can't believe it, because I've always read it can be tricky. I hope it likes the heat here in Georgia. The variety I sowed was the common black beauty. Good luck everyone.

April 4, 2008	#18
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,848	i have never had a problem sprouting eggplant. i treat them as i do peppers, and tomatos. they seem to take their time getting going early on though. it took nearly a month for my unknown iranian variety to come up. my 3 other varieties came up over a 3 week period. germination has been very good with seeds up to 5 years old. keith

April 9, 2008	#20
jhp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 492	I too have sown my very first eggplant seeds. Sowed them a week ago today and almost all are up as of this morning. I am growing Ping Tung Long and Lavender Touch. I had planned to grow them in an earth box, is the wet feet thing something I should worry about? I could always stick them in a pot. I don't want to kill my first eggplant babies. I've never even grown eggplant before. Any thoughts on the wet feet/earth box issue? Thanks, Jen

April 11, 2008	#22
jhp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 492	Since I only have 3 earth boxes, maybe I'll use them for something that I know will like it in there. I think I'm gonna put my eggplants in regular pots or in one of my regular raised beds. Glad I came across this post. Thanks, Jen

May 3, 2008	#25
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	Tom, why don't you grow your eggplant in the ground? New Jersey isn't the eggplant growing capital of the world for nothing! Eggplants love 3 things: NJ soil (sandy soil with good drainage), lots of heat, and lots of water. Maybe 4 things ;-) They love 10-10-10 fertilizer.

May 31, 2008	#26
jhp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 492	Okay, I haven't gotten around to planting my eggplants yet, but I don't think that's a bad thing since our weather has been so cooky and we've had some cold nights. I am planning to plant this weekend. Tired of babying seedlings in cups. I ended up with 7 seedlings. I'm wondering how many fruits does an eggplant produce? I wasn't originally planning to grow that many,but well, now that they are here and look like fabulous little seedlings... But I don't want to end up with a ton of eggplant since we've never eaten a lot of eggplant. I am planning to try out some recipes and see how it goes. So my question is, how many fruits does an eggplant produce? Jen

June 2, 2008	#27
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Bark, YOU TALKED ME INTO IT ! EGGY IS IN THE GARDEN !!! ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

June 2, 2008	#28
beck3465 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Crystal Beach, Texas Posts: 89	I started my eggplant from seed this year, the last two years I bought plants. I was SOOOOO excited when the first little round true leaves showed. My husband thinks I'm insane to get so excited over plants...I bought my seed from TGS. I'm growing Black Beauty and Listada de Gandia which is an Italian white and purple. They are doing super in 14 gallon containers, two per container. Four plants usually produce more than enough for my family of four. Congrats Tom on your new eggplants... Enjoy!!!! Becky

July 9, 2009	#30
LenaBeanNZ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 114	How did the harvest shape up then? Are you growing eggplants again this season? Im about to start my first seeds... Little Fingers and Black Beauty