Last night's supper

I harvested these last evening and grilled them. Very good, with no bitterness. But next year I will try something more substanial. After cooking and peeling there was only about half a cup.

Oh, man! These are my favorites! In a stir-fry with tofu with a brown sauce..delectable! Also a great addition to a more substantial pad thai!
Yours look so beautiful and blemish free.

GGG

Thanks. I grew them in a planter on the deck, so no problems with insects.

Are those eggplants???

Yes, Pintung Long variety, from Tomato Growers Supply.

I just slice and bake mine with some olive oil and a mix of fresh-grated Italian cheese. Really prefer the orientals to the normal big fat ones. Got some from a neighbor that rented the house next door for a while. They moved and left the plants on the back wrought-iron fence. I harvested those on my side.

Planted 5 plants last year got about 100#. DW says - not this year, but I may plant a couple anyway. They do great in our heat and humidity.

Bubba_MoCity -- What zone are you in? I have heat and humidity in summer and would like to try some?

Lovely eggplants! Try "Orient Express" sometime too if you like Asian style long ones. Early maturing variety and quite productive. Thye are a dark (almost black) and shiny shade of purple.

Yes, I will try some other varieties next summer. Tplant, go for it, you can probably have a good crop this winter, they love growing in EB's.

We like Orient Express very much. Pintung is also good. BTW, Pintung is a city's name in southern Taiwan, according to my wife.

LarryD

I think I will add Rosa Biana next year, more flesh for the time and space.

Trying "Rosa Bianca" for the first time this season. It sure looks good on paper; I'll let you know how it works out in our garden.

Tplant - I think I'm in 9. Missouri City is ssw of Houston, just 50 miles to the Gulf.

Orient Express was what I had.

Used a mandolin to slice them into long thin strips, did not waste the time peeling them. Olive oiled a 9x12 baking dish (2 qt) then layered with fresh grated cheese, italian seasoning, and drizzled oil to nearly the top. Bakes quickly - 30 minutes or less at 350. Wonderful with fresh sliced tomatos.

You may grow larger eggplants, but you will go a long time before you improve on Ping Tung for flavor. I can't tell how long they were in the picture, but I think you could probably let them get substantially longer. I looked them up at my favorite Asian seed source and they say they get 18 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. One of those would make a lot more than 1/2 cup. Also, there is no need to peel them. The skins on Asian eggplants are very tender. I steam them in 2 inch by 1/2 inch sticks, skin and all, then saute them in with Thai basil, fish sauce and a little hot pepper and they are too die for. For size description see:

http://www.evergreenseeds.com/chinegpintun.html

Some of the more traditional eggplants can taste bitter if they get too large. I say, try some others, but Ping Tung is an excellent variety.

This message was edited Jul 29, 2006 11:59 PM

Thanks for the info. I was concerned they might get too old, bitter and seed filled. Never thought to check seed pack information about their potential length. Anyway, there are two more out there that are about the same size and more babies. I read somewhere the agent that makes the eggplant skin purple is very healthful. Next time I will eat the skin.

I think you will like the Rosa Bianca - it's one of my faves! I'm doing Violette di Firenzi this year for the first time, and the plant is loaded! I can hardly believe how many ep's are on the small plant!

I, too, leave the skin on.

Your's look lovely. I probably would have plucked up, too. Seems like whenever I wait "just a little longer" I either forget them and they too woody, or some critter comes along and makes me sorry!

Hi Sequee, let me know how you like the Violette. I just need more garden space and more energy. This summer has wore me out already.

It's been miserably hot. We alternate between sweltering heat and humidity and violent storms. Each night I come home from work to face wind and rain damages or wilted plants.

Starting to get a bit of a harvest, though.

Here's a bad picture of a nice little grab last night!

Sequee: Nice array of vegetables. What is the gray colored squash on the right side next to the plate?

Sequee:
That is a respectable harvest for a day. I am not getting that much.

Sorry the lighting is so bad - I'm trying to learn a new camera, and not doing so good!

The squash to the right is actually white! It's the Lebanese White Bush Barrow Squash. I will let you know how it tastes later! The green tomatoes were actually tossed off the plants during Friday's storm. What a mess I had, but I'm not really complaining. Just a couple of miles from my house there trees down and power outages, so I guess I can do a clean-up and lose a few tomaotes!!! I also picked some Supersweet 100's (which NEVER make it into the house), lettuce and some wax beans.

The beans are about done, and the peas are gone, as are most of my greens. I'm thinking about planting some more to see if they will take in the hot weather. I just don't know.

Very nice Sequee, especially after the weather your area is experiencing. I have some fall crops started in trays but no where to plant them unless I pull up the summer squash. (They're about over the hill anyway.) Too hot to think about that today.

And this just in...

Good for you Sequee! What variety is the long pea/bean? And the cherry tomatoes?

Did I see 8-ball zucchini in the picture before last? I'm trying to grow them. But my zucchini sprouts kept getting munched or stolen out of their hills, so I planted some Black Eel in the same hills. I finally have zucchini plants, but whether they're 8-Ball or Black Eel only time and harvesting will tell.

That's the Green Noodle Long Bean, also some fortex pole beans, gold crop wax beans. The Cherry tomatoes are Isis Candy, Supersweet 100's, and Ruby Pearl. The larger cherries are a mystery to me. I thought I planted the Matt's Wild Cherry in that spot, but is NOT what I'm getting!

I love the 8-Balls, but it's important to pick them when they are actually 8-Ball size! They grow really fast, so if you see one that's ready, grab it! They are just perfect tasting when they are the right size!

I've got a few plants of the fortex too. Tasty. Do you have to shell out the noodle bean?

No, it's used in stir fry. I've had them in Asian restaurants and didn't even know what they were! They are also known as yard-long beans, but I understand they are better when picked at 18 - 20". I picked this one a little early because I wanted to use it tonight!

Tonight I will make a stir fry with most of the things pictures, though I will just use the tiniest bit of the Filius Blue Pepper as I understand he is killer hot, especially at purple! I had a jalepeno in the first picture, but I cannot find it! Hmmmm - can't imagine the doggies or kitties got it! Weird!

Very nice, enjoy your harvest. Signing off for tonight.