I never thought of Northern Ireland as having the right climate to grow eggplant / aubergine but I'm happy to report I'm getting fruits. The developing eggplant are tiny but hopefully they'll grow into a decent size (and better yet, be tasty).
Variety: Aubergine Early Long Purple 3 (Eggplant). Sown indoor from seed on 8 April 2012.
An article I read on the internet says to harvest when they reach their full size and are shiny. This makes me smile - when growing a plant for the first time, how do you know when it reaches its full size? I'm thinking I'll give them to Sept before harvesting. Any thoughts on this welcome!
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| Above and Below: The fruits developing - quite a nice surprise this week. |
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| Above and Below: The plants are kept in a sun room / conservatory in medium sized pots, and fed weekly with tomato feed. |
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| Above: This photo shows the size of a plant approx 7 weeks ago. Photo taken on 21 June. |
Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.
They look quite exotic don't they - mine started off okay but now the fruits are dropping off - too much water, not enough - who knows.
ReplyDeleteKelli, your Aubergines are at about the same stage as mine. I hope to be harvesting the first couple in a week or 10 days.
ReplyDeleteOn my blogpost called "Taking it easy" (8 Aug), Gardenglut left me a comment about how to tell when Aubergines are ripe, which you might find useful.
Thanks Mark.
DeleteHi Kelli, they look good enough to show! We have harvested 3 of ours so far, they are fatter but not as long as yours. Off now to Mark's blog to see if we should have waited?!
ReplyDeleteYour eggplant looks great! They should be ready to harvest before Aug. ends, I would think.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelli
ReplyDeleteOurs are in flower but no fruits yet. Ever hopeful.
You're right it isn't a helpful guide for a beginner is it? We don't have that worry - as Martyn said - no fruit at all.
ReplyDeleteVery impressive...love those poppies too. I have some seeds that I must get in the ground soon, ready for our spring
ReplyDeleteHow wonderfully exciting for you Kelli...they look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThey've just got to do you good because they just look healthy never mind the taste! Enjoy ;D
Those egg plants look great. I can think of ten different things to cook from them off the top of my head. Could you please tell what size container you are growing them in and how long did they take before setting fruit? Also are they high maintenance?
ReplyDelete