Eggplant

[valmom]

Personally, I hate eggplant. But, I have gotten a special request from my SO for eggplant. So, I need some advice- how does it grow? Bush like tomato? Runner like squash? They sort of look like squash. Full sun? Tolerate shade? (I have both areas) Will they grow in a short growing season like we have up here?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Treat it like you would a sweet pepper.

There are two kinds, Japanese and "classic". Check which she wants.

 

[digitS']

Prepared some ways, eggplant's a lot like a slice of vegetable bread. Prepared other ways, I suppose it's a lot like vegetable mush.

Valmom, you don't tell us where "up here" is. I live near the 49th parallel and have a lot of Spring and overnight coolness. That makes it difficult for eggplant which likes it warm, warm, warm.

☼ Eggplant is in the Solanum family with tomatoes and potatoes and cousins to the Capsicum peppers. Sweet pepper culture fits well for their requirements. You are setting out plants rather than burying potato tubers so that can't happen until the weather is warm . . . I think I already said that .

I seem to have success with the smaller fruited varieties rather than the big "bells" and that makes it a little difficult to enjoy them the way I like them best - either breaded and fried or as eggplant parmigiana. The best 2 varieties for those purposes that I've found for this short-season area are Dusky and AppleGreen.

Try the non-purple types. If what you don't like about eggplant is their tendency towards bitterness, lighter-colored types have less of that. The greens, whites and the lavenders seem to me to be a bitterless group. That allows for the Asian long green types as well as those cute Brides and Caspers and some others that I haven't tried.

Steve

 

[valmom]

Thanks for the help- pepper type area of the garden it is.

I got here from the BYC board and I guess I assumed my data followed me Doh. I'm in Vermont, so I'm just now starting seeds to put plants out in June. I only saw two types of eggplant seeds in Agway- the traditional ones and a lighter white and rose color mottled one that didn't even look like an eggplant.

 

[digitS']

I wouldn't risk a 75 or 80 day variety, Valmom.

One serious problem with retail seed sources is that they tend to have all the same varieties no matter where you live. Even a large garden center like one in my neck of the woods will have seed from 4 or 5 sources but the only bell pepper they all offer is California Wonder.
Supposedly a 65 day pepper but I was never able to get a crop to mature !

So . . . go very "early maturity" for those eggplants. You'll see when the time comes to harden them off that a cool 60F with a 5 mph breeze will darn near kill 'em. Wimps . . .

I think both AppleGreen and Dusky came from your neighborhood but that won't mean that they will be easy to find.

Oh, and make sure your SO sees all the trouble you are going to coddling them . . .

Steve

 

[kathyschix]

I have seedlings started this year for Ma-Zu Purple Chinese Eggplant:

http://rareseeds.com/seeds/Eggplant/Ma-Zu-Purple-Chinese

We'll see how they do! I was never an eggplant "eater" until we got some of the long, slender purple ones in our CSA shares last summer. Never really cared for the fried eggplant type dish and just didn't know what else to do with it!

I hated to see it go to waste, looked around a bit for a recipe and found this one:

Hot & Sour Chinese Eggplant:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-and-Sour-Chinese-Eggplant/Detail.aspx

It is easy and yummy. Mmmmmm.

Kathy

 

[sunnychooks]

If what you don't like about eggplant is their tendency towards bitterness, lighter-colored types have less of that. The greens, whites and the lavenders seem to me to be a bitterless group. That allows for the Asian long green types as well as those cute Brides and Caspers and some others that I haven't tried.

Can I use these other varieties in any eggplant recipe or are there certain ways to prepare them?