General Eggplant
Type: Perennial but treated as an annual
Description: Nice and dark purple, oval or long oval, sometimes shaped like a tear dop
When to plant: Six weeks (2 months) before the last spring frost
Level of difficulty: 3-4
How to plant: Small fruited variety eggplants such as the Indian Eggplant which really is close to the shape and size of an egg.
Tips/Facts/Uses:
Description: Nice and dark purple, oval or long oval, sometimes shaped like a tear dop
When to plant: Six weeks (2 months) before the last spring frost
Level of difficulty: 3-4
How to plant: Small fruited variety eggplants such as the Indian Eggplant which really is close to the shape and size of an egg.
- For eggplants you will need a large dark colored pot, I won’t specify the measurements. Just have a large pot.
- Fill up the pot with fertile soil that has a pH of 6.3-6.8, make sure it is a bit loose.
- Plant the seeds a ½ inch deep.
- Seeds will germinate faster in hot weather, they take about 1 to 2 weeks to germinate.
- To keep soil cool, retain moisture, and prevent weeds, mulch the soil heavily under your eggplant plant. Keep in mind, eggplants thrive in warm soil.
- Once the outside temperatures keep a consistant 60 degrees (or close to that) transplant the eggplant seeds/seedlings outside.
- When the plants begin to grow, they will grow outward like pumpkins. To prevent this, space wise, place a trellis in the pot so that the plants can grow upward.
- Your eggplant will produce flowers. Since eggplant flowers do not attract any pollinators, you must pollinate them by hand.
- When your eggplants are ready they should be glossy. When you cut into them their seeds should be white and present. IF the eggplant is hard with no seeds, you picked it too early. If the seeds are black and the eggplant isn’t glossy on the outside, you picked it too late.
Tips/Facts/Uses:
- Great for italian food!
- Good for hollowing out and using it as a bowl (once roasted)