Eggplant

With their purple flowers and colorful fruits, eggplants look good in any garden. Eggplants also are unique amongvegetables-- their meaty, hearty texture and taste make them one of the most satisfying vegetables to eat, and a popular ingredient in manyvegetable recipes. In this article, we'll talk aboutgrowing eggplant.

About Eggplant

Eggplant is grown as an annual and has large, hairy, grayish-green leaves. The star-shaped flowers are lavender with yellow centers. The long, slender or round, egg-shaped fruit can be creamy white, yellow, brown, or purple, depending on the variety. Eggplants will grow 2 to 6 feet tall, depending on the variety. Typical home garden varieties produce fruit that is rounded with shiny, dark purple skins. The Asian varieties produce fruit that is slender and elongated with skin that is usually dull purple in color. Eggplant belongs to the tobacco family and is related totomatoes,potatoes, andpeppers.

Common Name:Eggplant

Scientific Name:Solanum melongena

Hardiness:Very Tender (will not survive frost)

In the next section, we'll show you how to grow eggplant.

Try:

How to Prepare Eggplant:Learn how to prepare eggplant, including tips on roasting eggplant.
Vegetable Gardens: Grow a full harvest of great vegetables this year.
Gardening: We answer your questions about all things that come from the garden.

Growing Eggplant

The deep, rich color of eggplant will beautify your homevegetable garden.

Eggplant is very sensitive to cold and needs a growing season with day temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit and night temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Although you can grow eggplant from seed, you'll wait 150 days for a harvest. It's easier to grow fromtransplantsstarted inside about six to eight weeks before your outside planting date, which should be two to three weeks after the danger of frost.

Eggplants must have fullsun. They'll grow in almost any soil, but they do better in rich soil that is high in organic matter. Excellent drainage is essential. Set the plants 18 to 24 inches apart. Try to maintain an even soil moisture to ensure even growth. In hot climates the soil temperature may become too warm for the roots; in this case,mulchthe plants about a month after you set them outside.

Harvesting Eggplant

从种植移植到收获的时间是70 to 85 days. Harvest the fruit young, before the flesh becomes pithy. The fruit should be firm and shiny with no brown streaks. The fruit is borne on a sturdy stem that does not break easily from the plant; cut it off with a sharp knife.

Tycoon, harvest at 54 days, is an Asian type with slender, purple fruit.
Bambino, harvest at 60 days, produces small, rounded fruit on compact, 12-inch plants; it is an ideal variety for containers and small spaces.
Victoria Hybrid, harvest at 61 days, an Italian type with a deep purple skin color, produces fruit that is long and slender and good for slicing.
Dusky Hybrid, harvest at 62 days from transplants, is good for short seasons, producing slender, oval dark purple fruit.
Black Beauty, harvest at 80 days from transplants, has rounded, dark purple fruit.

Want more information about eggplant? Try:

How to Prepare Eggplant:Learn how to prepare eggplant, including tips on roasting eggplant.
Vegetable Gardens: Grow a full harvest of greatvegetablesthis year.
Gardening: We answer your questions about all things that come from the garden.