just picked these this morning. going to bread them and then bake
them in the oven. i have noticed that one day the eggplants are a shiny deep purple and within 24 hours they start to dull as you can see in the picture but i am happy with this crop. this is my third picking of the eggplants.
Lovely Herbie! How do them light purple ones taste as compared to the Black Beauty? Do they still taste the same. Better substance than the others?
How do you bake them in the oven. I only know how to fry em in a pan.
Got awhile to go before my black ones are ready. Drought took out first batch and restarted some, but they growing kinda slow.
i think i am one of the people that cannot taste a difference in vegetables. i see no difference in the taste of heirloom and regular tomatoes or even different toamtoes in the heirloom group. i do know when i have a sweet tomato though so no, i do not taste a difference in the eggplants.
i have tried the black beauties with very little success. they seem to take a very long time to mature.
i just dip the sliced eggplants in egg wash adn then bradcrumbs. placethem on a cookie sheet and place in 350 degree oven until they are soft and the breadcrumbs are brown. sometimes we have to cover them with foil to keep the breadcrumbs from burning. its a less fattening way to cook them erven though you are using breadcrumbs.
I find the Asian eggplants in general to have superior flavor, with the Italian types coming in second, American types like Black Beauty and Florida Market coming in last. Which cultivar is that, Herbie? Looks like a great crop.
This is the Italian type Baluroi, For me the best combination of all three worlds.
farmerdill - those are called dancer eggplants.
I will try some next year. Since I started growing a few plants in an earthbox, no more flea beetles! Not a one! Field gardening is still is best for me for most everything else. It's good to have options. Like your easy recipe too. Looking good Frank!
does eggplant have to be pollinated?
I didn't even think about that when I planted one at one end of the garden and one at the other end. Doesn't matter, I guess, because one of them puts out one bloom at a time and the other one hasn't bloomed yet. Small but healthy plants, and I'm in the same zone as you, herbie. you think I have any chance of getting eggplant this year, or should I just enjoy the pretty leaves and reluctant flowers?
since my plants had eggplants on them before i put them outside i would say that they don't have to be pollinated.
when did you put the plants out and did you start them from seeds??
i started mine feb 22nd and put them out june 1st.
got the plants two for one at the garden store in late June. :o) had room in the garden, so I figured I'd pick up some late-season strays. we'll see how they do. that's good news for me about the pollination, though. thanks.
i don't think you will have any problems.
herbie, awesome eggplants. this is my first year growing veggies, and i picked up 4 ichiban japanese eggplants at home depot last june. i am enjoying them so much. the sweetest eggplants i've ever had. the plant itself is so pretty, too.
the eggplants are so dark, you can't see them.
for a few weeks, my little container garden will sustain my small family of three.
I am having a problem with one of my eggplants. They are covered with tiny ants. There is noaphids or anyother insect on them, but yet I have hundreds of these ants running up and down all over the plant and all of it's leaves. Can't figure out why or what to do to get them off of it that safe to use. All my other eggplants are fine, not a single ant. Just this one.
moonglow - that sure is one pretty and big plant.
starlight - once in a while i see ants on my eggplants but not hundreds of them. i have seen no ill effects to them being there.
Thanks Herbie. : )
I have purple! :o)
I'm so excited that I'm getting an eggplant! hee, hee.
Twinkle eggplants
This is as big as they get - 3 -4 inches long
LT - how do you use them??
I give them to my daughter, she likes eggplant and I don't.
Herbie, your eggplants are lovely. I never did get any of the seeds you sent planted so am waiting until next year.
Here is a picture of my first ripe eggplant, (is ripe the right term), It is Bianca. I went out to take the photo of the plant in my Earth Box, and because of the wind last evening it was laying over on its side. Had to put in a stake and tie the plant up so the rest of the fruits would grow. Have a couple more eggplants growing in one of my raised beds but they are too shady not from tree growth so don't grow the best, but I will have enough for my use.
I have never used your method Frank of baking the eggplant slices but sounds like a very good idea.
Donna
donna - must have been one heck of a wind it even blew your picture right off the screen
hee, hee. :o) I want to see Donna's eggplant, too.
She should also tell me how to know when it's ripe because I don't know the variety and if it's like tilton's twinkle, I'm bound to leave it out there too long.
thats what i had to learn since i started growing in containers. when i planted in the ground i knew how big the eggplants would get and had no trouble picking them exactly at the right time which is when they had a nice deep purple glossy look.
with containers you never know how big each fruits is going to get. naturally they never get as big as when they are in the ground so i learn the hard way. this year my dancer eggplants were nice and shiny but i figured they had a few more inches to grow. as usual, i waited to long and they started to get that dull color to them.
Sorry about the picture, will send now.
I don't know how exactly to tell when an eggplant fruit is ready to be picked, guess I just do iy looks and feel. I fixed my slices by baking as Frank suggested . When I slice it after peeling, looked so nice and whitem but after soaking for 15 or 20 minuets after being salted one could easily see the seeds. Cleared some after rinsing, but sure is good, still have 3 or 4 slices left.
Donna
Herbie ; There are no photos of Dancer in Plantfiles. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/166530/ Could use a comment also.
Awwwwww looky all them cute little eggplants.
Don't know what happened, but no all my ants off my plant and got a flower, so I hope i get a tiny fruit starting soon.
Herbie: I have black beauty seeds and the lavender ones for next years garden. I live in NW florida and decided to start my own plants inside this year. I was thinking of getting a jump by planting everything in the middle of February like you did; but, you didn't put them out til June? Why is that? Did it take that long for them to grow? If that's the case maybe I should start them in December as my plants go out in March. What do you think? I'm looking forward to eggplant parmigian this year, although, I've never made it right yet. I talked to a few people who say the trick is in the way you cut the eggplant and cover it with papertowels to let it seep all the liquid out of it before trying to cook it.
joy112854
Rose One: You were talking about garden boxes, are those the earth boxes they show on www.earthbox.com? I bought about 6 of the grow boxes off www.growbox.com and was wondering if anyone had tried them and if they could be compared?
joy112854
