Fairy Tale Eggplant 9/24/21 to 12/23/22 (461 Days)

[lynnee]

The biggest eggplant grew about a quarter of an inch overnight! The others are growing more slowly, but I think that I'm going to harvest this one tomorrow or Sunday.



BTW, from time to time I HAVE seen an explosion of pollen after I buzzed a flower. Now I'm trying to figure out whether it's possible to spot the blooms that are really ready for pollination.

[campingcorgis]

Woo hoo!  Congrats!  So exciting!

[mike]

Do you like how they taste?

[Sher]

Your little eggplant are perfect beauties, lynnee.

[lynnee]

Nov 26, 2021 20:48:05 GMT -5 mike said:

Do you like how they taste?

Don't know yet. I'll harvest and cook the first one tonight or tomorrow. What did you think of yours?

[lynnee]

Day 73. After today, no more Fairy Tale eggplant photos unless the plants do something really interesting. The full plants don't photograph well, since they prefer to hide their blooms and fruit under those big leaves.

The eggplant that will probably be eaten tonight. Photos taken on 11/27, 11/26, and 11/25. It grew another half inch overnight.



The smaller eggplant that was the first to be found. Photos 11/27 and 11/25.



Other eggplants are developing on the Farm 12 XL plant with the biggest eggplant. It's possible for fruit to set in a cluster that still has unpollinated and/or still-opening blooms.



A cluster of developing eggplants from the solo plant in the Farm 12 Plus.



I'm liking this project quite well now that the eggplants are coming on.  I'll keep the plants going for a couple of months, or as long as they're producing enough to warrant tying up the two Farm 12 gardens.

[campingcorgis]

Good job!!

[Sher]

For some reason, eggplants are especially fascinating to grow. Maybe it's just because they are so different.

Those clusters are really impressive, lynnee.

[lynnee]

The biggest egglplant measured in at 3-1/2" this evening. The dang thing has tiny thorns on the stem and green cap!  mike , it had a fresh, light, delicate eggplant taste.

I tossed it with a little olive oil and pepper, then roasted it for about 7 minutes on a side in a 450 degree toaster oven. (The recipe called for a pound of split Fairy Tale eggplants, roasted for 20 minutes, flipped halfway through.)

I intended to get a photo of the roasted halves, then forgot in the rush to serve it hot. There will be other photo opportunities soon.

[Sher]

That is a lovely photo, lynnee.

[Shawn]

They really like you   The y are growing nicely

[lynnee]

Nov 15, 2021 21:10:55 GMT -5 Sher said:

I never see tomato pollen, and peppers only sometimes.

But eggplant blossoms release a very visible billow of yellow dust when they are successfully pollinated.

It looks like that one flower is going to make twins -- or at least two fruits fused together. Fun!

BTW, shaking doesn't pollinate eggplant. They depend on bees buzzing. I used a battery powered toothbrush. And the yellow ends have to be open pretty wide before the pollen is ripe enough.

But some people have successfully pollinated them with an artist's brush. One of our members, dianne , pollinated hers that way.

Sher, A battery-powered kids' toothbrush works a LOT better than the AG "Be the Bee", so I appreciate your mentioning the method. The AG pollinator is cute, but you have to turn it to the correct angle to make the "brush" contact the flowers, and it doesn't run continuously unless you keep the button pressed down.

The $5 Colgate "Batman" toothbrush that I got from Amazon vibrates a little more strongly, so it releases more pollen. The brush head isn't angled, so it's easier to hold and use in the eggplant's flower clusters beneath the big leaves. Also, it keeps running until you turn it off.

🍆🍆🍆

[mike]

I just use an old toothbrush head for my Oral-B toothbrush.  I used wire cutters and cut off the bristles.

[lynnee]

It's Day 78, and the Fairy Tale eggplants are busy. As Sher suggested, the double-centered flowers do produce twins:



Diligent pollinating is rewarded with clusters of little fruits. This cluster has another twin:



The first little baby that I spotted has reached adulthood, at 3-1/2":



And the two plants in the Farm 12 XL are still looking happy, on a diet of 24 ml of AG nutrients added every 14 days:



Tah Dah! (With special thanks to Sher and mike for their growing tips!)

[Sher]

They are gorgeous! Great job, lynnee! 

[campingcorgis]

Dec 2, 2021 19:11:44 GMT -5 Sher said:

They are gorgeous! Great job, lynnee ! 

Ditto!  Fantastic! 

[Shawn]

Adorable twins.  I had conjoined twin peppers once. 

[lynnee]

Day 81, harvested 10.8 ounces of Fairy Tale eggplants, from three plants. All three have more fruit developing. None of them have dropped many blossoms.

Solo plant, growing with negligible pruning in Farm 12 Plus. Room is a few degrees cooler than room where other plants are growing. Plant gets some light from room after AG lights turn off.



Two plants growing in Farm 12 XL with fair amount of pruning.



Pile of blossom debris includes dropped blossoms (with stems still attached, marked with white dots).  The fertilized blossoms drop only the petals and a funnel-like center.

[lynnee]

Day 81 harvest is plenty for a dinner side dish for 2 or 3.

Fairy Tale eggplants are trimmed and halved, tossed with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce; roasted at 425 degrees F. on a sheet pan for 30-35 minutes, turning halfway through; and sprinkled with sesame seeds (salt and pepper to taste). I got a little too much oil, so 1 Tbsp is probably best.



H says that the skins are especially flavorful!

This is a good article on growing Fairy Tale eggplants. (I can't remember where the link came from, so thanks to whoever posted it if it came from this forum!)

aeroponicsvshydroponics.com/fairy-tale-eggplant/

[campingcorgis]

Sounds yummy!