My First Lavender Eggplant

Isn't this pretty?

Very pretty. What's the variety name?
Does your lavendar eggplant have large thorns on the green "cap"?
I'm growing an Italian heirloom called Listada di Gandia this year. It's purple with white streaks. Great flavour! The plant must know that too, because this eggplant variety has thorns like those on a rosebush! I've attached a photo of yesterday's harvest. You can see some of those thorns if you look at the top of the eggplant near the trompocino squash.

Looks like you've got a few kohlrabi in there to keep your eggplant company?.

Garden_Maid, what a lovely haul! The variety I am growing is Lavender Touch Heirloom. I don't have any thorns though.

Edited to note that the tag that came with this plant classifieds it as an heirloom, but one seed company lists it as a hybrid.

This message was edited Aug 16, 2006 12:55 PM

kanita, I do see Lavender Touch listed as a hybrid in the Park Seed catalogue. Perhaps it's a hybrid between two heirloom varieties?

If you like the variety, it doesn't really matter if it's an heirloom or not.

You're right Mermaid. And also, I do have kohlrabi growing in the container with the eggplant. It's my first time growing both. Are you going to grow Listada di Gandia again? Is it worth adding to my collection?

We had all the vegies in the picture for dinner tonight. I roasted the eggplant and trompocino in the toaster over with olive oil, rock salt, and black pepper, then sprinked with fresh Italian parsley (also from the garden) when it was done. The Listada di Gandia is worth the hassle with the thorns (at least to us). It has a wonderful flavour without a hint of bitterness. I'm also growing a Rosa Bianca eggplant. It's starting to prouduce fruit now. The Listada di Gandia seems like an earlier variety. I'll start making mousaka when the Rosa Biancas are ready.

The trompocino squash is also a delicious variety, almost nutty in flavour, and far easier to grow that zucchini. I do have three varieties of Romanesco zucchini in our garden bed, along with an acorn squash and buttercup squash.

Kohlrabi is not one my personal favourites, but the German & Kashmiri sides of the family absolutely love it, so I see alot of it. Maybe one day I'll find the right recipe. How do you cook it?

On the kohlrabi, I have never eaten it. My brother suggested I grow it. I will have to try that trombocino squash, I think I saw that at Franci Seed from Italy. I am also growing Rosa Bianca eggplants for the first time, but I have yet to see any fruit set. I planted them out on July 8th, so I hope I will get something. I am getting a bunch of those little japanese eggplants, but the birds keep pecking at those before I get a chance to get them.

We transplanted our little eggplant seedlings the second weekend in June. The plants just started setting fruit a week and a half ago. Once they set, they seem to grow quickly. The Rosa Bianca is definitely slower than the other variety, but then it is a plumper fruit. It probably needs more time to fill out.

Can you put netting over your plants to keep the birds away from the fruit? Most garden centers sell bird netting.

I will look for that and see if it helps. Is caging eggplant really necessary? I did it just in case.

I've never caged and eggplant. They are not vines like a tomato or squash. Mine have always grown like an upright shrub. We did use Wall O'Waters early in the season to keep them warm until the summer weather kicked in.

Here is a picture of our Listada di Gandia eggplant "shrub" from yesterday.
It's about four feet tall, very sturdy, shrubby and loaded with fruit (finally!).

Your Lavendar touch may fill out as it gets older.

This message was edited Aug 22, 2006 4:09 PM

Here's the view behind the outer leaves.

Wow Garden Maid. When did you plant those?

I think I tranplanted the seedlings on June 24th. I'm attaching a photo of the way they looked on June 29th. We just started the community garden this year and didn't have the lottery for the garden beds until Memorial Day Monday. We spent the next two weekends preparing the soil. My DH double dug the bed. A lot of work. It was hard pan California adobe clay that had been out of use for over a decade.

I ordered the seedlings from the Natural Gardening Company.
http://www.naturalgardening.com/shop/index.php3
They were very healthy and lovely and arrived a few days after I ordered.

I think you planted your eggplants later than I did, correct?

kanita/mermaid - those are beautiful looking eggplants. i will check them out for next season

Eggplants are indeed an amazing plant. They come in so many differenct colours and shapes they can fit any garden decor!

Yes, I planted my July 8th. So I am a month behind you. I didn't realize that eggplants take so long to produce as I have never grown them.