First eggplant of the season. Destination - Grill!

**nctomatoman** · June 28, 2007

59 days from transplant and right on schedule (Based on previous year's data) - Zebra (one of the most beautiful eggplant, a hybrid), and Green Giant - a great JSS OP variety. Within the next few days will come Lavendar Touch, Neon and Casper.

**mdvpc** · June 28, 2007

I grew Green Giant last year and it was really good-my eggplant are a little behind, I have an Italian one that is getting ready with the others a little behind.

duajones · June 28, 2007

nice looking fruit there. I only got 3 off of my Black Beauty and hope for more fruitset. All 3 were baked with bread crumbs but if I do get another one, it will hit the grill as well.

shelleybean · June 28, 2007

I'll be able to pick my first this weekend and it looks like it'll be a White Beauty. I was supposed to have a second WB plant but it is clearly different. Now that the mystery plant has set fruit too, it looks very much like Rosa Bianca, which I also like. I have two Rosita that are beginning to set fruit and a Louisiana Long Green that has set a few. LLG is another favorite at my house.

obispo45 · June 30, 2007

Harvested my first ones on Wednesday. Growing 6 varieties this season...mostly hybrids and all are in 5 to 10 gallon pots. Orient Express which is what I'd guess to be an improved Ping Tung type won the race this year and looks like it'll be pumping them out all year....very very impressed with this one. Beatrice is looking good, Fairy Tale as well. Clara and Udumalapet(spelling?) are slow but starting to come around. Rosita...who knows but it ain't looking too good at this point, pests and weather have been beating the heck out of them while leaving the other varieties alone for whatever reason.

**nctomatoman** · July 1, 2007

Next eggplant- picked June 30 (61 days from tranplant) - Casper (white), Neon (bright lavendar), and Lavendar Touch (white with pale lavendar blush). These went into our first Ratatouille of the year. MMMM!

David52 · July 1, 2007

So far so good with my containerized plants, they're 10X the size of the garden ones, starting from the same size transplant. The containerized ones were moved inside during the frost, and the 80 mph gale, and so on, which didn't hurt. They, the containerized plants, are now flowering. It is in the 90's all week, and with a little luck......

Grub · July 3, 2007

Oh, my... eggie ammo... I'm looking at my sorry plants still hanging in there, just, from last season.

Your fruits look sensational... haven't tried Green Giant but food for thought...

Tell me, did they taste as good as you hoped. No, wait, on second thoughts, maybe I don''t need to know. I'm desparate.

**mdvpc** · July 3, 2007

My wife and I had our first eggplant of the year-Violetta Lunga-got the seed from Seeds from Italy. Tasted like butter. Grub-Green Giant for me was good. My Applegreen and Violette di Firenze as well as Prosperosa and Black Beauty and Rosita are coming along nicely.

**nctomatoman** · July 3, 2007

Yes, Grubs - fabulous. We tried a few new things with the first two. Sliced up the Green Giant and let it marinate in Teriyaki marinade cut with a bit of olive oil for a few hours. The other, the Zebra, was marinated in olive oil and lemon juice (let me back up - we peeled them and sliced into half inch rounds).

Fire up grill - gave them both 5 min per side over medium heat (nice grill has marks). After we flipped the Teriyaki ones, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. After we flipped the lemon juice ones, they got a basil leaf, pinch of parmesan reggiano, then a slice of mozarella. Close grill, melt cheese, toast seeds.

Tried them both with rice, with steamed squash and green beans. What a feast!

The other 3 made an incredible first of the year ratatouille - we find that those first early eggplant are very tender and sweet - they just about dissolve in the cooking and thicken the dish.

By the way, we went with the globe or teardrop instead of long this year because we like to slice and grill, or slice and bread and bake - we just find them a bit more useful than the long ones for our current culinary adventures.

Grub · July 3, 2007

Michael and Craig,

Thanks for the feedback on GG et al... I asked for it. The asian/med' spin sounds great. Japanese love them with miso too. Mmm. Mrs Grub has ordered more. She loves them. I am going to repot and prune those I have to see if they take off again.

I also have some eggies in a yellow hard state hanging on the old plants for seed saving. Intend to dunk them in bucket and float seeds to the surface as, I think it was, Craig advised.

Look forward to seeing and hearing more eggie tales... slurp.

June 28, 2007	#2
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	I grew Green Giant last year and it was really good-my eggplant are a little behind, I have an Italian one that is getting ready with the others a little behind. __________________ Michael

June 28, 2007	#4
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I'll be able to pick my first this weekend and it looks like it'll be a White Beauty. I was supposed to have a second WB plant but it is clearly different. Now that the mystery plant has set fruit too, it looks very much like Rosa Bianca, which I also like. I have two Rosita that are beginning to set fruit and a Louisiana Long Green that has set a few. LLG is another favorite at my house. __________________ Michele

July 1, 2007	#7
David52 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SW Colorado Posts: 74	So far so good with my containerized plants, they're 10X the size of the garden ones, starting from the same size transplant. The containerized ones were moved inside during the frost, and the 80 mph gale, and so on, which didn't hurt. They, the containerized plants, are now flowering. It is in the 90's all week, and with a little luck...... __________________ That last tomato, dear? What last tomato? That stain on my shirt collar? Um, er, lipstick.

July 3, 2007	#9
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	My wife and I had our first eggplant of the year-Violetta Lunga-got the seed from Seeds from Italy. Tasted like butter. Grub-Green Giant for me was good. My Applegreen and Violette di Firenze as well as Prosperosa and Black Beauty and Rosita are coming along nicely. __________________ Michael

July 3, 2007	#10
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Yes, Grubs - fabulous. We tried a few new things with the first two. Sliced up the Green Giant and let it marinate in Teriyaki marinade cut with a bit of olive oil for a few hours. The other, the Zebra, was marinated in olive oil and lemon juice (let me back up - we peeled them and sliced into half inch rounds). Fire up grill - gave them both 5 min per side over medium heat (nice grill has marks). After we flipped the Teriyaki ones, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. After we flipped the lemon juice ones, they got a basil leaf, pinch of parmesan reggiano, then a slice of mozarella. Close grill, melt cheese, toast seeds. Tried them both with rice, with steamed squash and green beans. What a feast! The other 3 made an incredible first of the year ratatouille - we find that those first early eggplant are very tender and sweet - they just about dissolve in the cooking and thicken the dish. By the way, we went with the globe or teardrop instead of long this year because we like to slice and grill, or slice and bread and bake - we just find them a bit more useful than the long ones for our current culinary adventures. __________________ Craig

June 28, 2007	#3
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	nice looking fruit there. I only got 3 off of my Black Beauty and hope for more fruitset. All 3 were baked with bread crumbs but if I do get another one, it will hit the grill as well.

June 30, 2007	#5
obispo45 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SE Minnesota Zone 4.51a Posts: 139	Harvested my first ones on Wednesday. Growing 6 varieties this season...mostly hybrids and all are in 5 to 10 gallon pots. Orient Express which is what I'd guess to be an improved Ping Tung type won the race this year and looks like it'll be pumping them out all year....very very impressed with this one. Beatrice is looking good, Fairy Tale as well. Clara and Udumalapet(spelling?) are slow but starting to come around. Rosita...who knows but it ain't looking too good at this point, pests and weather have been beating the heck out of them while leaving the other varieties alone for whatever reason.

July 3, 2007	#8
Grub Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,722	Oh, my... eggie ammo... I'm looking at my sorry plants still hanging in there, just, from last season. Your fruits look sensational... haven't tried Green Giant but food for thought... Tell me, did they taste as good as you hoped. No, wait, on second thoughts, maybe I don''t need to know. I'm desparate.