Eggplants are a tender, very warm-weather crop. • Start eggplants indoors 10 to 8 weeks before the average night time temperature is expected to stay above 55°F (13°C), • Set eggplants in the garden after nighttime temperatures are consistently greater than 55°F (13°C) and daytime temperatures average 70°F (21°C). If temperatures are much cooler you…
Eggplant
How to Harvest and Store Eggplants
When to Harvest Eggplant: • Harvest eggplants when they are firm and glossy and big enough to eat—about one-third their maximum size. • To test eggplant fruit for maturity, press the fruit with your thumb; if the flesh springs back it’s green and not ripe; if your thumb leaves an indentation, the fruit is overripe;…
Peppers, Melons, Eggplants—Hate the Cold
Cool days and nights can be a problem for tender warm-season crops such peppers, melons, and eggplants. Temperatures in the 40sF won’t kill these plants but their growth will be stunted. Wait to plant out very tender crops until the lowest temperatures do not fall below 50°F/10°C—55 or 60 degrees is even better. If you…
Epsom Salt, Tomato, and Pepper Growing
Epsom salt used as a foliar spray or soil additive will help tomato and pepper plants grow and produce larger, tastier yields. Late in the season use an Epsom salt spray to increase tomato and pepper yield and keep plants green and bushy; early in the season add Epsom salt to the soil to aid…
Short-, Mid-, and Long-Season Eggplant Varieties
Eggplants grow best in the garden when the soil temperature and daytime air temperature is at least 70°F and the night temperature is greater than 60°F. There is no reward for setting eggplant seedlings outdoors when temperatures are cooler—they will only suffer. Grow an eggplant variety suited to the number of days in your region…
Eggplant Growing Problems: Troubleshooting
They can be difficult to grow without these ingredients. Here is a troubleshooting list of possible eggplant problems with control and cure suggestions: (More eggplant growing success tips are at the bottom of this post.) Eggplant Growing Problems and Solutions • Seedlings are cut off near the soil surface. Cutworms are gray or brown grubs…
Eggplant Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Give eggplants a warm location, warm soil and keep them evenly watered and stress free and they will reward you with beauty and flavor. Here are best bet, easy-to-grow eggplants divided into shape and size categories: (1) large oval eggplants; (2) elongated eggplants; and (3) white eggplants. Keep reading to the bottom of this post…
How to Grow Eggplant
Eggplant is very tender perennial grown as an annual. Eggplant requires 100 to 140 warm days with temperatures consistently between 70° and 90°F to reach harvest. Eggplant is best started indoors and later transplanted into the garden; sow eggplant indoors 6 to 8 weeks before setting plants into the garden. Transplant seedlings into the garden…
Eggplant Growing
Aubergine or eggplant? You’ll find this vegetable under either name in cookbooks. Eggplant is the name used by most American speakers. Aubergine is chiefly a British usage. Eggplant was the name originally given to the white-skinned, egg-shaped variety of the vegetable sometime in the mid-eighteenth century. Aubergine followed about 30 years later. By the middle…
Cooking Eggplant
The subtle flavor and meaty texture of eggplant make it especially versatile in cooking. Perhaps that’s why eggplant is found in so many cuisines around the world. One of the strengths of eggplant is its ability to absorb the flavor of whatever it is cooked with and at the same time add a creamy bulkiness…