Eggplant 2020 - Page 2

zipcode · July 6, 2020

Interesting, those temps sound ideal.
I would say the asian style ones seem to like more heat but should still be just fine.

There are many OP varieties, and they should produce a decent crop.
I guess you like the more tender texture of the long ones. I like a big of thickness because of the way I use them, but certainly that tender texture is useful in many dishes, especially those that are quickly cooked.

Some other things that come to mind are: eggplants love water, soil should be moist all the time for best fruit quality. Which brings the problem of verticilium, they are very sensitive to it, if there is suspicious wilting, it's most surely verticilium.
And then pruning, I saw various ways, but most people start with 3 stems (around the main branching that happens near the first flower). Then depending on variety and support, you usually leave only those 3, or you leave some more up, but in a way that makes a somewhat aerated bush (so branching leading away from the middle).

TomNJ · July 6, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

I've tried many varieties over the years and none do well for me....I will try different eggplants again next year. I know someday i'll find one that grows well in my garden.

I have also had lots of problems with eggplant over the years, mostly insect damage but also just small plants and low production. This year I put a row cover over my six eggplants at planting in late May and just removed it a couple of days ago. Wow! Big lush beautiful plants with lots of flowers. Finally I expect a good yield from these plants.

Eggplant are under the row cover on the left in the 1st photo (broccoli and cauliflower under the row covers behind, which also did very well!). That is a quart mason jar in the 2nd photo for perspective.

roper2008 · July 6, 2020

I was lazy this year and didn’t start any eggplant seed. I purchased Ichiban starts for myself and Little Fingers for a co-worker. Looks like the Little Fingers are all mine since COVID has closed my work for awhile now.

Don’t know why this picture is sideways like this. I have 3 plants in one earthbox.

zipcode · July 8, 2020

That looks like some heavy production. What is the typical weight of those fruits?

roper2008 · July 8, 2020

I’m not really familiar with these eggplants. The biggest ones on this table is 174-178 grams, others are 111, 137,143, 123 grams etc, etc. I can say one thing, they are very firm. Haven’t tried them yet. I will today.
This time I have an upside down picture for you. Lol

roper2008 · July 8, 2020

Okay, I grilled some on my griddle with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt. Not a whole lot of flavor, if the rest are like this I won’t grow them again. Ichiban is better.

zipcode · July 9, 2020

A solid weight considering the number of them. Pity about the hard texture.

Father'sDaughter · July 9, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by roper2008

I’m not really familiar with these eggplants. The biggest ones on this table is 174-178 grams, others are 111, 137,143, 123 grams etc, etc. I can say one thing, they are very firm. Haven’t tried them yet. I will today.
This time I have an upside down picture for you. Lol

Is it possible they were over ripe? Hard to tell by the picture, but it looks to me like they have started to develop that almost brownish hue that over-ripe eggplants get which is also when the get really hard.

Father'sDaughter · July 9, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomNJ

I have also had lots of problems with eggplant over the years, mostly insect damage but also just small plants and low production. This year I put a row cover over my six eggplants at planting in late May and just removed it a couple of days ago. Wow! Big lush beautiful plants with lots of flowers. Finally I expect a good yield from these plants.

Eggplant are under the row cover on the left in the 1st photo (broccoli and cauliflower under the row covers behind, which also did very well!). That is a quart mason jar in the 2nd photo for perspective.

They look great! I hope they produce well. Pests are not a problem with eggplants, they just don't grow. I plant them in the same bed as my tomatoes and peppers which usually do quite well. Very puzzling...

What variety are you growing?

JRinPA · July 10, 2020

roper, the ones on the right end might be okay. They look a little darker, or maybe it is the shadow causing it. But the ones in the middle all look past prime to me for a dark colored eggplant like black beauty, nadia, galine, or epic. I do prefer to pick them young. The ones I grow don't put out a bunch of fruit one spot like that, though. Those are the "little fingers?"

TomNJ I am right there with you on the row cover. I find it does a tremendous job over hoops on eggplant, peppers, okra, corn, and broccoli. I just uncovered my eggplant/pepper rows this evening and the eggplant look spectacular. I only had it covered for a few weeks. They love the heat!

FD I'll bet you just need more warmth. They need more than peppers, and a lot more than tomatoes, in my opinion. Hoops like above, and some black plastic mulch really get them moving here.

TomNJ · July 10, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

They look great! I hope they produce well. Pests are not a problem with eggplants, they just don't grow. I plant them in the same bed as my tomatoes and peppers which usually do quite well. Very puzzling...

What variety are you growing?

Just six plants of Black Beauty this year. After such small yields in the past several years, this year with the row cover is just an experiment. If it continues to be successful I will double the planting next year.

I use eggplant only for my incredible eggplant parm, so I like the shape of Black Beauty for this purpose. I plan to make and freeze numerous small trays from this crop.

roper2008 · July 11, 2020

Maybe I am picking them to big. I’m going to make my eggplant with spicy garlic sauce with the ones I picked today. If it comes out good then I’ll probably grow them again, these plant’s are very productive.

JRinPA · July 11, 2020

They look great, nice and shiny. Hope they taste better this time. They look great for fries. I grew one called suraj a few years back, round one, but about that color.

zipcode · July 13, 2020

TomNJ, not entirely sure those are Black Beauty, I assumed they were some Asian type by the upward leaves and purple stems. Maybe it's just the light.

So a few days ago I picked the Xi'an Green and the Green Dragon. They were 512 and 304 grams respectively (1.1 and 0.7 lb). The Xi'an is quite huge, feels very light in hand. The Green Dragon does not look like in the package picture, it should have been more pointed at the end, also bigger. Maybe later fruits will. Quality was surprisingly good, soft texture, cooked fast, on the sweet side.

TomNJ · July 13, 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipcode

TomNJ, not entirely sure those are Black Beauty, I assumed they were some Asian type by the upward leaves and purple stems. Maybe it's just the light.

The seed package said Black Beauty - I'll see for sure in a couple of weeks.

July 6, 2020	#16
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	Interesting, those temps sound ideal. I would say the asian style ones seem to like more heat but should still be just fine. There are many OP varieties, and they should produce a decent crop. I guess you like the more tender texture of the long ones. I like a big of thickness because of the way I use them, but certainly that tender texture is useful in many dishes, especially those that are quickly cooked. Some other things that come to mind are: eggplants love water, soil should be moist all the time for best fruit quality. Which brings the problem of verticilium, they are very sensitive to it, if there is suspicious wilting, it's most surely verticilium. And then pruning, I saw various ways, but most people start with 3 stems (around the main branching that happens near the first flower). Then depending on variety and support, you usually leave only those 3, or you leave some more up, but in a way that makes a somewhat aerated bush (so branching leading away from the middle).

July 8, 2020	#19
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	That looks like some heavy production. What is the typical weight of those fruits?

July 8, 2020	#21
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	Okay, I grilled some on my griddle with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt. Not a whole lot of flavor, if the rest are like this I won’t grow them again. Ichiban is better.

July 9, 2020	#22
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	A solid weight considering the number of them. Pity about the hard texture.

July 10, 2020	#25
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 972	roper, the ones on the right end might be okay. They look a little darker, or maybe it is the shadow causing it. But the ones in the middle all look past prime to me for a dark colored eggplant like black beauty, nadia, galine, or epic. I do prefer to pick them young. The ones I grow don't put out a bunch of fruit one spot like that, though. Those are the "little fingers?" TomNJ I am right there with you on the row cover. I find it does a tremendous job over hoops on eggplant, peppers, okra, corn, and broccoli. I just uncovered my eggplant/pepper rows this evening and the eggplant look spectacular. I only had it covered for a few weeks. They love the heat! FD I'll bet you just need more warmth. They need more than peppers, and a lot more than tomatoes, in my opinion. Hoops like above, and some black plastic mulch really get them moving here.

July 11, 2020	#28
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 972	They look great, nice and shiny. Hope they taste better this time. They look great for fries. I grew one called suraj a few years back, round one, but about that color.