I'm giving up on eggplant growing - Page 2

tjg911 · April 6, 2013

Antoniette the problem is you are growing them in the ground, my assumption. i used to grow them in 5 gallon pails with excellent results. the pails heat up, the ground is cool. i used to get so many i couldn't eat them all. i have 1/3 of the driveway paved and 2/3 is not. place the pails on the asphalt, water daily, put where they get full sun all day and i think you'll be surprised at the amount of fruits you'll get. and as an added bonus NO flea beetles unless you place the pails near the garden soil.

tom

shelleybean · April 6, 2013

Mine are in raised beds but I add a few inches of compost at the beginning of each season.

I'll still have my White Beauty this year but I am trying Pingtung this time so I'm glad to read people get good results with that one. Pintung is my only new eggplant this year. I also have Louisiana Long Green, Rosita and Prosperosa.

lakelady · April 6, 2013

Is it too late to sow seeds now? I did my peppers in February, and Tomatoes in March (okay, I snuck a few more tomatoes in last week ).

My driveway is mostly shade unfortunately. The dock on the lake is good sun most of the day. My garden area is mostly sun, but quite full already (on paper that is).

roper2008 · April 6, 2013

The only ones I've had good production with is the long
asian types. I always buy a few black beauty's, but never
get any good eggplants from them..but I bought 3 of them
a couple days ago to try again. Maybe I'll get it right this
year.

The asian's I'm growing is Thai Long Green, and Machiaw F1.

gryffin · April 6, 2013

The oriental types are pretty early. I started my seeds about 1 week ago- I'm in Zone 5a/5b. Your season should be longer than mine so between that and the early maturity, I think you would might still have a good harvest window, just not as long as if you had started them earlier.

According to the source from which I bought Swallow, it is 51 days from transplant, Pingtung Long is 58 days from (compared to Rosa Bianca at 88 days from transplant).

Tracydr · April 6, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakelady

LOL sounds like something I would do. IF I could fit 40 plants in!

I've heard Ping Tung Long is excellent. Probably too late to start seeds now though by the time i get them. Maybe I'll find a plant at the garden center.

Ping Tung Long is my favorite, too. Crazy productive. Always sweet and tender. Wonderful for grilled eggplants. They're heat lovers so it should be okay to start a little late. Put them in the hottest, sunniest place you can find. 5 gallon pot or Gro-bag is fine. I grow mine in full sun in AZ. Basically the only thing besides okra that I put in full sun for the summer. Oh, and long beans.

Cole_Robbie · April 6, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjg911

Antoniette the problem is you are growing them in the ground, my assumption. i used to grow them in 5 gallon pails with excellent results. the pails heat up, the ground is cool. i used to get so many i couldn't eat them all. i have 1/3 of the driveway paved and 2/3 is not. place the pails on the asphalt, water daily, put where they get full sun all day and i think you'll be surprised at the amount of fruits you'll get. and as an added bonus NO flea beetles unless you place the pails near the garden soil.

tom

That sounds like a really good idea. Hot weather cooks my container tomatoes, but maybe I can still grow container eggplant.

peebee · April 7, 2013

One trick you can try, when your plant stops producing, is to prune it in half (yes, I know it sounds drastic) and any side suckers, and be SURE to fertilize well as soon as you do it, by either making 4 holes around the perimeter of the pot, then dropping in your dry fert, covering, and watering in, or you can use your liquid. I used to have poor production in-ground, then swtiched to pots, and saw better results, but then my plants would stall mid-season. So after I learned of this pruning method which is quite common in Japan, I tried it and now I do this every time. It is important to fertilize at this point, remember.

As for flea beetles...in my area, they are everywhere. Yes, I tried putting pots away from my garden, on concrete, on tables, you name it, thinking I could fool them. They found every little plant, no matter where they were. I've become quite the expert in crushing them by hand, but its a daily battle.

Gavriil · April 7, 2013

Ordered some Ping Tung Long Seeds about 3 years ago didn't try planting them till this year indoors and couldn't get them to germinate.
Have always had productive plants when buying Ichiban plants from Walmart.
Except in extreme heat.

tjg911 · April 7, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakelady

Is it too late to sow seeds now? I did my peppers in February, and Tomatoes in March (okay, I snuck a few more tomatoes in last week ).

My driveway is mostly shade unfortunately. The dock on the lake is good sun most of the day. My garden area is mostly sun, but quite full already (on paper that is).

too late to start eggplant from seed? i think so. i never grew it from seed but iirc it's like peppers - you have to start them a month or more before tomatoes. i always bought plants and you can do that in another month.

so put 5 gal pails in a full sun spot, it shouldn't be near or especially in the garden to avoid flea beetles. the asphalt would kick up the heat but on the dock or ground is ok. the air around the pails will be hot, the ground 5" down is cool even in august.

tom

Tracydr · April 8, 2013

I had two of my eggplants in the most unlikely spots. One accidentally grew next to an air conditioner with hardly any room, maybe about 3 inches between the AC and the sidewalk. Poor plant. It was there for 4 years before freezing this winter! The other was next to the dryer vent getting huge amounts of hot air, even in the summer, here in AZ!
Both plants grew to be small trees and I was very sad to lose them in our freezing weather this winter. It took a really hard week of freezes to lose them, too, since they were so close to the house and I've always protected them from freezes.
My other plants were in more conventional spots but production was similar. Actually, the older plants produced more, probably because they had tree trunks? I would prune them hard to keep them about 4 feet in height two or three times a year.

whistech · April 8, 2013

Shellybean, how long does it take your Louisiana Long Green eggplant to start setting fruit?

shelleybean · April 8, 2013

Around 75 days. In some catalogs I see they list 100 days at the DTM but I have never had them that late. I have a lot of heat and humidity 24/7 here in the summer though and they like that. The LLG are no later than any other variety for me. The earliest eggplant I've grown is Early Black Egg.

Keger · April 11, 2013

Black beauty did well. I am doing Florida high bush this year too. They seem to love the heat.

whistech · April 12, 2013

Michele, thank you for your response. I have some seed started and I know it's late, but this is my first year gardening and I'm trying to grow the Louisiana Long Green eggplant because I thought it should do good here since it's a Louisiana variety that is not supposed to be bitter. I have never been a big fan of eggplant because they always tasted bitter to me. We also have hot weather and extremely high humidity here, so I think I should be ok. Again, thank you for sharing the information with me.

April 6, 2013	#16
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	Antoniette the problem is you are growing them in the ground, my assumption. i used to grow them in 5 gallon pails with excellent results. the pails heat up, the ground is cool. i used to get so many i couldn't eat them all. i have 1/3 of the driveway paved and 2/3 is not. place the pails on the asphalt, water daily, put where they get full sun all day and i think you'll be surprised at the amount of fruits you'll get. and as an added bonus NO flea beetles unless you place the pails near the garden soil. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

April 6, 2013	#17
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	Mine are in raised beds but I add a few inches of compost at the beginning of each season. I'll still have my White Beauty this year but I am trying Pingtung this time so I'm glad to read people get good results with that one. Pintung is my only new eggplant this year. I also have Louisiana Long Green, Rosita and Prosperosa. __________________ Michele

April 6, 2013	#18
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Is it too late to sow seeds now? I did my peppers in February, and Tomatoes in March (okay, I snuck a few more tomatoes in last week ). My driveway is mostly shade unfortunately. The dock on the lake is good sun most of the day. My garden area is mostly sun, but quite full already (on paper that is). __________________ Antoniette

April 8, 2013	#28
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	Around 75 days. In some catalogs I see they list 100 days at the DTM but I have never had them that late. I have a lot of heat and humidity 24/7 here in the summer though and they like that. The LLG are no later than any other variety for me. The earliest eggplant I've grown is Early Black Egg. __________________ Michele

April 6, 2013	#19
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	The only ones I've had good production with is the long asian types. I always buy a few black beauty's, but never get any good eggplants from them..but I bought 3 of them a couple days ago to try again. Maybe I'll get it right this year. The asian's I'm growing is Thai Long Green, and Machiaw F1.

April 6, 2013	#20
gryffin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 229	The oriental types are pretty early. I started my seeds about 1 week ago- I'm in Zone 5a/5b. Your season should be longer than mine so between that and the early maturity, I think you would might still have a good harvest window, just not as long as if you had started them earlier. According to the source from which I bought Swallow, it is 51 days from transplant, Pingtung Long is 58 days from (compared to Rosa Bianca at 88 days from transplant).

April 7, 2013	#23
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	One trick you can try, when your plant stops producing, is to prune it in half (yes, I know it sounds drastic) and any side suckers, and be SURE to fertilize well as soon as you do it, by either making 4 holes around the perimeter of the pot, then dropping in your dry fert, covering, and watering in, or you can use your liquid. I used to have poor production in-ground, then swtiched to pots, and saw better results, but then my plants would stall mid-season. So after I learned of this pruning method which is quite common in Japan, I tried it and now I do this every time. It is important to fertilize at this point, remember. As for flea beetles...in my area, they are everywhere. Yes, I tried putting pots away from my garden, on concrete, on tables, you name it, thinking I could fool them. They found every little plant, no matter where they were. I've become quite the expert in crushing them by hand, but its a daily battle.

April 7, 2013	#24
Gavriil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: kansas Posts: 158	Ordered some Ping Tung Long Seeds about 3 years ago didn't try planting them till this year indoors and couldn't get them to germinate. Have always had productive plants when buying Ichiban plants from Walmart. Except in extreme heat.

April 8, 2013	#26
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I had two of my eggplants in the most unlikely spots. One accidentally grew next to an air conditioner with hardly any room, maybe about 3 inches between the AC and the sidewalk. Poor plant. It was there for 4 years before freezing this winter! The other was next to the dryer vent getting huge amounts of hot air, even in the summer, here in AZ! Both plants grew to be small trees and I was very sad to lose them in our freezing weather this winter. It took a really hard week of freezes to lose them, too, since they were so close to the house and I've always protected them from freezes. My other plants were in more conventional spots but production was similar. Actually, the older plants produced more, probably because they had tree trunks? I would prune them hard to keep them about 4 feet in height two or three times a year.

April 8, 2013	#27
whistech Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Between The Woodlands and Spring, Texas Posts: 553	Shellybean, how long does it take your Louisiana Long Green eggplant to start setting fruit?

April 11, 2013	#29
Keger Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Richmond, TX Posts: 327	Black beauty did well. I am doing Florida high bush this year too. They seem to love the heat.

April 12, 2013	#30
whistech Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Between The Woodlands and Spring, Texas Posts: 553	Michele, thank you for your response. I have some seed started and I know it's late, but this is my first year gardening and I'm trying to grow the Louisiana Long Green eggplant because I thought it should do good here since it's a Louisiana variety that is not supposed to be bitter. I have never been a big fan of eggplant because they always tasted bitter to me. We also have hot weather and extremely high humidity here, so I think I should be ok. Again, thank you for sharing the information with me.