The aubergine / eggplant grown from seed are doing nicely and are now starting to flower. This is my first year growing aubergine as I always assumed they are more of a warm climate plant but I thought I'd give it a go. I have three plants and they are homed in my conservatory / sun room which also houses my eight tomato plants.
Variety: Aubergine (eggplant) Early Long Purple 3. Sown indoor from seed on 8
April 2012. Top three photos displayed taken 25 July.
It says on the seed pack they like cooler conditions once established but I'm hesitant to put them outside as most other plants I've put outside have suffered. I believe eggplant are self fertile so I have high hopes for lots of yummy fruits by Aug/Sept!
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| The above photo was taken on 21 June - you can see how much the plants have grown in just over a month. On a different topic, I was asked to write an article on my blog for Culture Northern Ireland. If you'd like to read the article it's posted on their website or click here - The Art of Gardening |
Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.
We're having another ty at aubergines too
ReplyDeleteYou're eggplant looks very healthy and happy! Good job! I'm growing 3 varieties this year. I love eggplant so they get a spot each year. I'm partial to the Japanese ones (long and skinny purple guys). Looks like you have lovely flowers already....soon you'll have fruit! Yeah!!
ReplyDeleteHi, I hope you get lots of eggplant. When you were a child, I used to make eggplant parmesan and you wouldn't eat eggplant, so I told you it was cornbread casserole and you loved it! I would dredge the eggplant in flour, then in milk and corn meal and fry it, then place in dish, cover with tomato sauce and cheese. That is why you thought it was cornbread! Of course you grew up to eat all veggies and to grow them! Mom
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I forgot to tell you that the article you wrote on gardening is very informative and inspiring. I hope everyone will take a moment to click on The Art of Gardening above, and read it.
ReplyDeleteI grew Ichiban eggplants too (the Japanese ones), and they were delicious. Baby eggplants are very expensive here, so I was thrilled to bits to see how much money I'd saved by growing it myself. I found that as the eggplants develop they will soak up all that lovely compost medium, and the level in your pot will decline. I just topped mine off, but I don't know if this is recommended. Mine did well with fish emulsion. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI mean to say the fish emulsion applied as fertilizer boosted growth, I wasn't suggesting it as a side dipping dish for cooked eggplants....ewww!!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty amazed. Your egg plant plants look so good. But even more amazing is that yours are at the same stage as mine planted out in the garden. I even noticed a tiny one already forming. We will have to compare our harvest in a few weeks. What fun. We also started ours from seed, only we are not as precise as you, recording the date seeded.
ReplyDeleteDid it really say they liked cooler conditions on the seed packet - perhaps that is where I have been going wrong all these years - I don't usually have much success but this year have had two aubergines already (although I cheated and bought a grafted plant)
ReplyDeleteWow your eggplants look great! Mine seem like they are just barely making it! I think the flowers are so pretty with the purple yellow combination.
ReplyDeleteThe race is on, Kelli... Each of my plants now has a little fruit, but they grow incredibly quickly. My plants seem to be really enjoying the warmer sunny weather we have had in the last week or so.
ReplyDeleteYour aubergine plant looks good. We grow this variety each year since it can tolerate cold better and quick to produce.
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