What varieties is everyone growing this year?

DeanRIowa · May 9, 2008

This will be my first year growing eggplants. I have seedling for the following:

Black Beauty
Long Purple Dark
Rosa Bianca

Dean

shelleybean · May 9, 2008

Louisiana Long Green is back again this year. This is probably the variety I've repeated the most. Produces like crazy and has sweet, mild flavor. I also have Prosperosa. I should have grown White Beauty again. I really like that one. I tried Black Beauty my first year growing eggplant and Rosa Bianca my second year. Hope they do well for you, Dean. I think they're both good.

**mdvpc** · May 11, 2008

I am growing yaponskiy karlik (japanese dwarf) from Andrey, zolotoe yaitso (gold egg) also from Andrey, Black Beauty (they do great for me in my zone 8 desert garden), applegreen, and ping tung long. I have 4 plants of each in 15 gallon grow bags.

Here is a photo of yaponskiy karlik. I am real impressed with how the plant looks, extremely healthy looking.

violet0996 · May 12, 2008

I planted Pink Tunglong and Rosa Bianca. They never sprouted, or so I thought until I saw that my feline friend had chosen that spot in the garden for regular dust baths. So I went to the garden center and got a Black Beauty which is just starting to flower. Since then I also found a volunteer from last year - also a purple type - and planted Thai Green, which I am still waiting to see sprout. - dawn

tigahb8 · May 14, 2008

How about, Rosa Bianca, Proposa, Nada, and Black Bell II.

Butch

rxkeith · May 14, 2008

this year i'm growing ukrainian beauty, diamond, ping tung long, and an unknown to me variety from iran. this is the 3rd try for ping tung long. first 2 attempts were unsuccessful. 3 strikes and you're out.

Andrey_BY · May 15, 2008

Michael - very good-looking and healthy plant. Yaponskiy Karlik is a Siberian CV despite Japanese part of its name and its very early and compact for eggplant. Zolotoe Yaitso (Golden Egg) has golden-yellow egg shaped fruits...

barkeater · May 15, 2008

I'll be growing 2 Rosa Biancas only. I haven't found anything better.

**mdvpc** · May 15, 2008

I have a flower bud on my Yaponskiy Karlik-I think its going to be pretty early for me. I corrected the Russian spelling on my golden egg in the post above.

**mdvpc** · May 25, 2008

Here is my yaponskiy karlik today, 2 weeks photo from my earlier one. Has several flowers already. Nice and compact. Its 7 inches tall. Going to be my earliest eggplant this season.

korney19 · June 21, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by barkeater

I'll be growing 2 Rosa Biancas only. I haven't found anything better.

Glad to hear that! I am growing it too, plus Diamond.

Funny thing is, I have never grown, nor eaten, eggplant before!

barkeater · June 22, 2008

The good thing is, if you don't like Rosa Bianca, then you'll know you don't like eggplant! I'm trying 1 of the 2 in a pot this year to see if the warmer location will yield better.

shelleybean · June 22, 2008

I have a couple of Louisiana Long Green growing quickly. I should be able to start picking soon. I had heard that Prosperosa was not a really productive variety but I have a lot of fruit set on those plants. Looking forward to those, as well.

korney19 · June 22, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by barkeater

The good thing is, if you don't like Rosa Bianca, then you'll know you don't like eggplant! I'm trying 1 of the 2 in a pot this year to see if the warmer location will yield better.

4-gallon buckets for mine here on the blacktop should provide some heat for them.

This sounded like the best description for Rosa Bianca, from Fedco:

Open-pollinated bicolor Italian heirloom. Vermont market grower Alan LePage calls it “the best eggplant in the universe,” with a creamy pudding-like consistency and delicate flavor. Gorgeous fruits, white with lavender streaking down the side, can command $3 per pound. Quite different from those familiar slender black types, Rosa is plump, about 3-4" across and 5" long, narrow at the top and widening with indentations almost in folds like draped fabric. Fruits average 2 lb, max out at 4 lb, making it LePage’s highest-yielding eggplant. Rosa needs to be coddled, particularly in the northern half of New England. Needs alternating temperatures to break dormancy: warm days (preferably 80s), cooler nights (around 70°). We recommend raised beds, row covers and plastic or IRT mulch.

barkeater · June 23, 2008

That's interesting, Mark. I grew RB a couple years ago, and had 2 really large eggplants and a couple small ones. Last year I didn't have seeds, and grew a black hybrid instead which yielded half as much. I thought it was just because of weather differences. So Mr. LePage may be right when it
comes to growing RB in the far north.

It was a lot different farming in NJ, the eggplant capitol of the world. All white or white striped eggplant yielded less than half of black eggplant. I didn't know Rosa Bianca by name then, it was generically called Sicilian eggplant by the Italian farmers I bought my transplants from.

But I really pushed it at my farm market because it tasted so much better, and 15 years ago I was selling as much white as black over a season, even though I charged 50% more.

May 9, 2008	#1
DeanRIowa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 5a - NE Iowa Posts: 416	What varieties is everyone growing this year? This will be my first year growing eggplants. I have seedling for the following: Black Beauty Long Purple Dark Rosa Bianca Dean

May 9, 2008	#2
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	Louisiana Long Green is back again this year. This is probably the variety I've repeated the most. Produces like crazy and has sweet, mild flavor. I also have Prosperosa. I should have grown White Beauty again. I really like that one. I tried Black Beauty my first year growing eggplant and Rosa Bianca my second year. Hope they do well for you, Dean. I think they're both good. __________________ Michele

May 15, 2008	#7
Andrey_BY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe (Zone 4a) Posts: 2,278	Michael - very good-looking and healthy plant. Yaponskiy Karlik is a Siberian CV despite Japanese part of its name and its very early and compact for eggplant. Zolotoe Yaitso (Golden Egg) has golden-yellow egg shaped fruits... __________________ 1 kg=2.2 lb , 1 m=39,37 in , 1 oz=28.35 g , 1 ft=30.48 cm , 1 lb= 0,4536 kg , 1 in=2.54 cm , 1 l = 0.26 gallon , 0 C=32 F Andrey a.k.a. TOMATODOR

May 15, 2008	#9
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	I have a flower bud on my Yaponskiy Karlik-I think its going to be pretty early for me. I corrected the Russian spelling on my golden egg in the post above. __________________ Michael

June 22, 2008	#13
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I have a couple of Louisiana Long Green growing quickly. I should be able to start picking soon. I had heard that Prosperosa was not a really productive variety but I have a lot of fruit set on those plants. Looking forward to those, as well. __________________ Michele

May 12, 2008	#4
violet0996 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 36	I planted Pink Tunglong and Rosa Bianca. They never sprouted, or so I thought until I saw that my feline friend had chosen that spot in the garden for regular dust baths. So I went to the garden center and got a Black Beauty which is just starting to flower. Since then I also found a volunteer from last year - also a purple type - and planted Thai Green, which I am still waiting to see sprout. - dawn

May 14, 2008	#5
tigahb8 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walker, Louisiana US Posts: 14	How about, Rosa Bianca, Proposa, Nada, and Black Bell II. Butch

May 14, 2008	#6
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,848	this year i'm growing ukrainian beauty, diamond, ping tung long, and an unknown to me variety from iran. this is the 3rd try for ping tung long. first 2 attempts were unsuccessful. 3 strikes and you're out.

May 15, 2008	#8
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	I'll be growing 2 Rosa Biancas only. I haven't found anything better.

June 23, 2008	#15
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	That's interesting, Mark. I grew RB a couple years ago, and had 2 really large eggplants and a couple small ones. Last year I didn't have seeds, and grew a black hybrid instead which yielded half as much. I thought it was just because of weather differences. So Mr. LePage may be right when it comes to growing RB in the far north. It was a lot different farming in NJ, the eggplant capitol of the world. All white or white striped eggplant yielded less than half of black eggplant. I didn't know Rosa Bianca by name then, it was generically called Sicilian eggplant by the Italian farmers I bought my transplants from. But I really pushed it at my farm market because it tasted so much better, and 15 years ago I was selling as much white as black over a season, even though I charged 50% more.