Days to maturity?

I have moved to a colder climate, in my last garden i never gave a second thought to this type of thing. Now that my growing season is so much shorter i better get it figured out.

I have started a bunch of eggplants. When the package says 90 days, does that mean 90 days from planting or 90 days from transplant? I have gone to several websites and i get conflicting information!?

with eggplant from transplant

It can depend on the maker of the packet, so check at, say, Burpee.com if that's the packet you have. Generally it is days from whatever is the recommended mode of planting (transplanting: tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, etc. Seed: beans, peas, root crops).

Not so terribly helpful; sorry. Then there's that whole great variable of weather and rain to play havoc with the days to maturity date. :)

You have both been very helpful. Not what i wanted to hear LOL, but helpful.

Thanks!

with eggplant. all reputatable vendors are from Transplant. 90 days is a very long season eggplant. Average is 60 -70 days. What exotic cultivar are you growing?

I picked the 90 days because it is the longest of the varieties i planted Black Beauty. I used to grow that one... may not happen here.

The others have varying germination times, i mostly tried to focus on the shorter season ones. The others are Applegreen, Rosa Bianca, Ping Tung , Thai Long Green, Thai Green Pea and Turkish Orange. My husband, one of my kids and i really like eggplant as do several of my friends and one of my neighbors, so we are trying some new varieties, as well as some old favorites.

Black B eauty, usually comes in with main season tomatoes so you should be fine, You do have some exotics. Let us know how that Thai Green Pea turns out.

I can hardly wait to see! We eat lots of Thai and Indian food in our family and i am hoping for something great.

tombaak, do you grow the Thai basil (holy basil)? It's got the most lovely scent. Even cleaning up the garden debris in the winter was nice, with that spicy smell...

Yes, i just love it. Basil is one of the wonders of the garden, of the world even. I grow lots of basil and make huge batches of pesto during the summer and freeze serving sizes in ziplocks. I make arugula and spinach pesto too.

Share your spinich pesto recipe? :)
Debbie

Debbie, i've never made just spinach, i think it might be too bland. I make arugula and spinach. My husband isn't as fond of arugula as i am, so i use the spinach to cut the intensity a bit. I've also used spinach and basil to make a not so pungent pesto.

I am terrible about following recipes. For the most part i just play it by taste. I put the basil, arugula, spinach, a mix... whatever in the food processor with a tiny bit of oil and pulse, adding oil only as needed (i don't like it to get really oily) i throw in the garlic with the greens. I usually use raw garlic, but lately have been sauteing it in the oil first so that it isn't as strong (our girls are little and don't like it too strong). If you do it that way, strain out the soft garlic pieces with a slotted spoon and put them in with the greens and use the oil as you go. When the greens are as pureed as you like add the parmesan (i use shredded not grated) and pulse till it is the consistency you like. Be sure not to add salt until after the parmesan, the cheese can be pretty salty itself, especially if you like a lot of cheese in your mix. Most people add pine nuts too. I love pine nuts, but think that grinding them up in the food processor is a waste of good nuts. I sprinkle them in with the finished pesto, before or after freezing, it doesn't matter. I use the pesto on everything from noodles to spaghetti squash to polenta, even for cold pasta salads and stuff.

If you grow your own basil, (which is so easy) you can eat tons of pesto over the winter! I don't know about you, but basil in the quantity needed for pesto is cost prohibitive around here in the stores.

Ummm, i am ready for spring already!