This delectable Italian heirloom eggplant is known for its beauty as well as its culinary features. The plump, 10-15cm (4-6") fruits are... Read More
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This delectable Italian heirloom eggplant is known for its beauty as well as its culinary features. The plump, 10-15cm (4-6") fruits are globular and bi-coloured in a gradient. Like a work of art, their ivory canvases are covered in broad, violet/purple brushstrokes. The mildly sweet flesh is meaty, with no bitterness. Plants are more productive when overnight temperatures are warmer. They have tall stems but plants are fairly compact relative to fruit size. Delicious stewed, grilled or stuffed.
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Latin
Latin
Solanum melogena
Family: Solanaceae
Difficulty
Difficulty
Easy.
Season & Zone
Season & Zone
Season: Warm season
Exposure: Full-sun
Timing
Timing
Sow indoors four weeks before your expected last frost date. Use bottom heat, and keep seedlings warm. Optimal soil temperature: 24-32°C (75-90°F). Seeds should sprout in 7-12 days.
Starting
Starting
Sow seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. Use individual peat or coir pots to reduce root disturbance when transplanting. Transplant after night time temperatures are steadily 10°C (50°F) or warmer. Space with 45-60cm (18-24″) between plants. Medium size (3-5 gallon) containers for individual plants also work well.
Days to Maturity
Days to Maturity: From transplant date.
Growing
Growing
Ideal pH: 5.5-6.0. Soil should have abundant phosphorus and calcium, so add lime and compost to the soil three weeks prior to transplanting. Mix ¼-½ cup of complete organic fertilizer into the soil beneath each transplant. Using a clear plastic cloche or floating row cover helps growth by increasing heat. Cool temperatures increase leafy growth, but delay fruit set. Once most eggplants get going in the summer, they are highly productive right up until the first frosts.
Harvest
Harvest
Pinch off blossoms 2 to 4 weeks before first any expected frost so that plants focus on ripening any existing fruit, not producing new ones. Harvest the fruit anytime after the fruit reaches half of their size. Harvesting early prevents fruit from becoming too seedy, and will encourage more production from the plants.
Do not pull the fruit off the plant, but cut it with scissors or secateurs, being careful to avoid any sharp spurs at the stem end.
Seed Info
Seed Info
In optimal conditions at least 65% of the seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years.
Diseases & Pests
Diseases & Pests
Pests:
Aphids – A hard spray of water can be used to remove aphids from plants. Wash off with water occasionally as needed early in the day. Check for evidence of natural enemies such as grey-brown or bloated parasitized aphids and the presence of larvae of lady beetles and lacewings. If the plants are healthy, aphids will probably never be a problem.
Flea beetles – Control weeds. Use row covers to help protect plants from early damage. Put in place at planting and remove before temperatures get too hot or plants start to flower.
Colorado potato beetles – Handpick beetles, larvae and eggs.
Cutworms – Use cardboard collars around transplants it cutworms are a problem.
Diseases:
Verticillium wilt – This is the most serious disease of eggplant. Remove and destroy an entire infested plant, along with immediately surrounding soil and soil clinging to roots. Set into soil where you have never planted tomatoes, peppers, or strawberries
Tobacco Mosaic Virus – Young growth is malformed and leaves are mottled with yellow. To prevent it, wash hands after handling tobacco (including Nicotiana), before touching plants. Control aphids, which spread the disease.
Companion Planting
Companion Planting
Eggplants are a good companion for amaranth, beans, marigolds, peas, peppers, spinach, and thyme. Do not plant eggplants near fennel.
More on Companion Planting.
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For over 35 years, we have upheld our strong reputation as a leading seed supplier, seeking out the highest quality untreated seeds for organic growing and putting them through rigorous independent testing. We built our company on the exchange of generational wisdom in a masterclass community of newbies and masters alike. Our world may have changed, but our commitment to our people, our customers, and our planet has not.
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At West Coast Seeds we believe in the power of small and that little can be large. Like the tiniest seed germinates to evoke incremental change with massive potential, so to can our community of gardeners and growers together. Gardeners are the earth’s stewards, planting seeds of creative declaration. The soil provides the canvas, we provide the seeds.
Sow indoors in the four weeks following the last frost date. Use bottom heat, and keep seedlings warm. Optimal soil temperature: 24-32°C (75-90°F). Seeds should sprout in 7-12 days.
Sow seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. Use individual peat or coir pots to reduce root disturbance when transplanting. Transplant after night time temperatures are steadily 10°C (50°F) or warmer. Space with 45-60cm (18-24″) between plants. Medium size (3-5 gallon) containers for individual plants also work well.
Ideal pH: 5.5-6.0.
Soil should have abundant phosphorus and calcium, so add lime and compost to the soil three weeks prior to transplanting. Mix ¼-½ cup of complete organic fertilizer into the soil beneath each transplant. Using a clear plastic cloche or floating row cover helps growth by increasing heat. Cool temperatures increase leafy growth, but delay fruit set. Once most eggplants get going in the summer, they are highly productive right up until the first frosts.
Days to maturity: From transplant date.
In optimal conditions at least 65% of the seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years.
Pinch off blossoms 2 to 4 weeks before first expected frost so that plants focus on ripening any existing fruit, not producing new ones. Harvest the fruit anytime after the fruit reaches half of their size. Harvesting early prevents fruit from becoming too seedy, and will encourage more production from the plants.
Do not pull the fruit off the plant, but cut it with scissors or secateurs, being careful to avoid any sharp spurs at the stem end.
Tobacco Mosaic Virus – Young growth is malformed and leaves are mottled with yellow. To prevent it, wash hands after handling tobacco (including Nicotiana), before touching plants. Control aphids, which spread the disease.
