Egg plant

[seedcorn]

not to hi jack @baymule thread, what varieties do you grow? Why? Pros/cons?

While too late to plant this year, it’s not too late to eat what I do have. Post any favorite recipes. Egg plant Parm & Moussaka for me.

I grow standard black beauty as I don’t like the form of the long Japanese to cook with.

 

[baymule]

You can highjack my threads anytime.

Rosa Bianca is very good, had mild white flesh, gets medium size and with a lot better care than what I gave mine, bears a lot more than Black Beauty. Besides, they are pretty to look at in the garden.

I was in Jr High when my Daddy discovered the Japanese eggplant. He gave them away, telling people they were black bananas. He told people to slice them, roll in cornmeal and fry. They loved the black bananas and asked for more!

They are good to cut in half lengthwise and grill.

 

[digitS']

Eggplant are a challenge for me. There is just too much exposure in my garden. If they were a little more important, I would grow them (with all sorts of other things like melons and peppers !) in the very little room I have here in my backyard ...

Instead, they are in the distant garden where I can have an okay season, mostly for the long, Asian types like Roleks and Shoya. Ping Tung has done well - all from Kitazawa Seed.

Best production has to be weighed against personal preference. Like you, Seed', I like eggplant parmesan and think round slices work better. Epic and Apple Green have the right shapes even if they aren't large bells. Fedco has Apple Green, Jung's and several others have Epic seed.

Challenges. Ain't it fun!?

Steve

 

[Crazy Gardner]

I have a few growing at home in pots and a few more at the camp. Not sure I'll get any from them, though the potted ones at home are really growing well. Have never even tasted eggplant before, but a fellow I met over last winter was raving about them. Worth a try.

 

[seedcorn]

To me, like zucchini, not a lot of taste but great carrier for sauces.

 

[flowerbug]

not to hi jack @baymule thread, what varieties do you grow? Why? Pros/cons?

While too late to plant this year, it’s not too late to eat what I do have. Post any favorite recipes. Egg plant Parm & Moussaka for me.

I grow standard black beauty as I don’t like the form of the long Japanese to cook with.

babaganoush! yum.

 

[flowerbug]

To me, like zucchini, not a lot of taste but great carrier for sauces.

i love it and will eat it many ways, Mom hates it, so won't grow it here. just not worth the space if i don't cook much. when i get a place of my own (some day) i can return to eating more of it and more greens and cabbages and such. i'm just so happy she likes beans and peas.

 

[Zeedman]

Eggplant are difficult in my soil & climate. They (much like okra) are exceptionally sensitive to cool temperatures, even a mild cold snap does them in. Most varieties I tried succumbed to wilt just shortly after they began flowering, I had a lot of frustrating failures before I found varieties that would succeed here. I prefer the elongated "Asian" types

"Diamond" seems to be immune to the wilt, bears heavily, and usually goes until frost - pretty close to foolproof.

"Casper" also seems to be highly wilt resistant, even more cold tolerant than Diamond, and I love the mild flavor... but the yield was too temperamental, and I finally gave up on them. Gretel has proven to be much more reliable, with the same mild flavor, and a much better yield. The plants are covered with blossoms, and the slim, white eggplant are born in clusters. It has done phenomenally well in pots, and is just getting started now - I hope to post a photo soon.

One other eggplant I grow tolerates the wilt, a USDA accession from the Philippines that I have been selecting for more elongated fruit. The compact plants bear clusters of long, skinny, silvery eggplant. They develop seed fairly rapidly, so are best picked at finger size; at that stage, the skin is so thin they don't need peeling. Really thorny plants, I literally need leather gloves to harvest; but the heavy yield is worth the trouble. It has a very short DTM, I'm quite surprised that a cultivar from the Philippines could adapt so readily to my climate.

We usually eat eggplant "refried", after it has been steamed, cooled, & peeled. A lot of it gets frozen at that point, with stem attached. Our favorite way to eat it is to slice the peeled eggplant lengthwise several times, press it into a fan, then fry it in a spiced egg batter. We also enjoy it chopped into omelets. DD is vegan, and enjoys fried, spiced eggplant as a meat substitute. Much of the eggplant (including all of the finger-sized ones mentioned above) ends up in the Filipino soup/stew Pinakbet, along with cubed winter squash, limas or shelly beans, yardlong beans, okra, chopped pimento peppers, and fresh tomato, in a tamarind soup base. I'd have no problem eating that soup every day, DW always makes a large batch.

 

[seedcorn]

Soup recipe?

 

[baymule]

Soup recipe?

X2?