Note: Too much nitrogen may cause excessive vegetative growth. If you are using plastic mulch, apply fertilizer through drip irrigation, or apply fertilizer to the side of the row.
Here are some of the more common eggplant pests, diseases, and problems. Flea beetles are probably the most common pest, but a healthy eggplant should be able to withstand damage from their tiny holes.
Damage is usually serious only on young seedlings. Grow plants under row covers until they are large enough to tolerate leaf damage. Remove garden debris in the fall to remove any overwintering beetles. Powdery Mildew can affect eggplant. This appears as white, powdery spots on the leaves which may turn yellow and die. The best method of control is prevention.
Planting resistant varieties when available, planting in full sun, and provide good air circulation. Water at the soil level, not on the leaves. Tomato Hornworms are sometimes an issue as are Colorado potato beetles, lace bugs, and mites. If the flowers on your eggplants form but then fall off, or if fruit does not develop, the most likely problem is that the temperatures are too cold. Eggplants like it hot!
Wait for warmer temperatures; you may have to replant, depending on the variety. Strangely-shaped eggplant are the result of inconsistent watering or low moisture. How to Harvest Eggplant Harvest eggplant 65 to 80 days after transplanting, depending on the variety.
When starting from seed, expect to days to maturity. July, August, and September even into October are all harvest months for eggplant, depending on where you live and the variety you planted. If you harvest early and often, the plant will be quite prolific. Once ready, check on your eggplants every 2 to 3 days.
The best way to gauge the time to harvest: Fruits are ripe when their skin first fails to rebound to fingernail pressure. Harvesting is a bit of an art; fruits can taste bitter if picked when underripe or overripe. The skin of the fruit should look glossy and unwrinkled and have a uniform color. If you cut the eggplant open, the seeds should be soft but formed. If the skin looks faded and the seeds inside are dark and hard, the fruit will taste bitter.
Japanese eggplant may be ready to harvest when the size of a finger or hot dog. Cut the fruit off with a sharp knife the stem is tough close to the stem above the green cap calyx on the top, leaving about an inch of it attached. The calyx can be prickly, so gloves are helpful. You can cut these plants back like peppers if your season is long enough for a second crop.
How to Store Eggplant Store eggplant in the refrigerator. Do not wash or cut in advance to avoid damaging the skin, which will quickly perish if exposed. The standard eggplant produces egg-shaped, glossy, purple-black fruit. One plant produces 4 to 6 large rounded fruit.
Expect a dozen or more fruit from one plant. Small-fruited varieties tend to be especially heavy bearers. Ornamental varieties are edible, but have poor eating quality.
Not edible. At one time, it was fashionable for women to use a black dye to stain their teeth a gun-metal gray. The dye probably came from the same dark purple eggplant we see in the marketplace today.
Eggplant is excellent grilled, roasted, breaded, fried, or baked! Use a stainless steel knife not steel to cut eggplant or it will discolor. If your eggplant is oversize, the skin may be too tough to eat. Peel before cooking or bake the eggplant and then scoop out the flesh. Slice, sprinkle with salt, and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. Vegetable Gardener's Handbook. What do you want to read next?
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Full Sun. Loamy , Sandy. Slightly Acidic to Neutral. Once flowering begins switch to a high phosphorus and potassium blend such as Most fertilizers formulated for tomatoes are a good choice for eggplants. Follow the directions on the package. Our eggplant, black beauty, is incredible with over 20 fruits on it now. Some are over 12 inches and most are inches and seem to have stopped getting larger.
We have harvested of the biggest ones so far. Wondering why the rest do not seem to be getting bigger. Your plant can only bring to maturity a limited number of fruits; your plant is heavily fruited. Harvest eggplants when they are firm and glossy and big enough to eat—about one-third their maximum size. We are growing an eggplant in a container on the deck. We have stalked it but the fruit are coming fast and furious….
Place a tomato cage around the plant—choose one that is large enough to fit over and around the plant. The cage will help support the branches. If a branch looks overburdened with fruit, it would be best to sacrifice one that lets the branch break. CAN calcium ammonium nitrate is very high in nitrogen—more than 25 percent; high nitrogen fertilizers will result in foliage growth but can suppress fruit growth; use a low nitrogen higher phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.
How is the eggplant flower pollinated? Insects, wind or both? Tomato flowers are pollinated by both. Tomatoes and eggplants have perfect flowers—meaning each flower contains the male and female parts—so both are self-pollinating; they are not dependent on insects; wind is helpful because wind jostles the flower causing the pollen to drop from the male to female part of the flower.
If the flowers do not self-pollinate there will be no fruit. If the weather is dry or wet, the pollen may not fall to the female part of the flower. If the weather is in the 70sF or low 80sF, give the flower trusses a gentle shake when the flowers open, this will help the pollen to fall. You can use a light bamboo stake and tie the plant gently to the stake with garden twine or set a small tomato cage around the plant.
We use tomato cages—which protect the plant from being jostled by passing humans, dogs, and cats. Get the best gardening tips straight into your inbox!
Email Address:. Join our gardening family to receive the latest tips. Search Search for: Search. Facebook 0 Tweet 0 Pin 0. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Vote Up 0 0 Vote Down 0. Yes sir. What are the stages of growth of Eggplants? If you have a long, warm growing season and use a split season planting plan, you can start seeds in midsummer for a fall crop.
Set out the seedlings out during a spell of cloudy weather. Growing eggplant would be ridiculously easy if not for eggplant flea beetles. These tiny hoppers make minuscule holes in leaves of nightshade family plants — potatoes, tomatoes, and wild hosts like horse nettle and jimsonweed — but eggplant is their favorite food.
The first tip I ever learned for sidestepping flea beetle problems was to grow the plants on a raised table, in dark colored nursery pots, for as long as possible. I pot up the seedlings as they grow, and set them out when their roots fill a 4-inch 10cm pot and the plants are quite stocky.
Large, vigorous plants can outgrow modest flea beetle damage, and young plants are easy to protect with row covers made from tulle wedding net , which keeps out most flea beetles but does not retain heat. When the plants begin to bloom, remove the covers so bees can reach the flowers. This is a good time to install stakes to keep the plants from falling over as they load up with fruits.
Self-fertile eggplant flowers can be fertilized by wind alone, but buzz-pollination by bees improves fruit set and fruit size. Many of the best pollinators are solitary bees — carpenter bees, bumblebees, and little sweat bees — who vibrate the blossoms to shake out pollen. If pollinators are absent or you have only a few plants, you can hand pollinate them by dabbing a dry artist's paintbrush in the open blossoms.
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