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Post by jcosmo on Feb 15, 2018 19:34:06 GMT -5
The 2nd eggplant blossom is getting ready to open. The pepper foliage is so dense, it was difficult to get all of them in the same shot, but I now have 3 peppers forming!   |
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Post by jcosmo on Feb 21, 2018 20:57:36 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip, Mike! I've been using the edge of an electric toothbrush held against the stem of my tomato and eggplant blossoms, and I can see a tiny shower of pollen raining down on the leaves below! It has made pollinating MUCH faster/easier (and also reduces the risk of cross-pollination). Though it's too crowded in the pepper plant to use anything but the paintbrush. I'm finding more flowers and peppers every day, and here's the first little eggplant (it's day 54):   |
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Feb 22, 2018 3:31:35 GMT -5
Very nice
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Kate
AGA Bounty
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Post by Kate on Feb 23, 2018 8:43:40 GMT -5
I use the back of an old toothbrush head for my Oral-B toothbrush. I touch it to the stem of the bloom. It works great. That's what I'm going to do, Mike. Do you use high or low speed, or does it really matter? |
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Feb 23, 2018 9:01:38 GMT -5
My battery operated one has one speed. That is what I use. But I cut all the bristles off.
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mike
The Pepper King
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Post by mike on Feb 23, 2018 17:19:53 GMT -5
Mine has only 1 speed, too. If you have two settings I'd set it to low.
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Kate
AGA Bounty
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Post by Kate on Feb 23, 2018 19:05:46 GMT -5
Thanks guys!
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MaryL
AGA Farmer
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Post by MaryL on Feb 25, 2018 15:29:41 GMT -5
Congrats on your first eggplant  |
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Post by jcosmo on Feb 25, 2018 22:39:14 GMT -5
Mary, when you grew this, how were you able to tell when the eggplants were ripe/ready to pick? This is the biggest one so far:  |
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MaryL
AGA Farmer
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Post by MaryL on Feb 25, 2018 23:11:35 GMT -5
Mary, when you grew this, how were you able to tell when the eggplants were ripe/ready to pick? This is the biggest one so far: That was a big question of mine too. I don’t know if it’s the same variety, but probably is because, really , how many of those can there be, lol. But, I would say to harvest sooner rather than later (if you have enough at once) because they develop lots of seeds the longer they grow. And I’d be curious as to their bitterness factor when harvested younger than I did. (I suspect older is more bitter, but I don’t know). Cut one open and show us! Btw, that’s gorgeous. It looks like a jewel! |
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Shawn
Administrator
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Post by Shawn on Feb 26, 2018 4:44:09 GMT -5
YOu should also try to sex them before slicing into them. The one on the vine looks like a male to me meaning less seeds. But then again I would need to see a head on pic of the tail.
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Kate
AGA Bounty
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Post by Kate on Feb 26, 2018 8:58:01 GMT -5
YOu should also try to sex them before slicing into them. The one on the vine looks like a male to me meaning less seeds. But then again I would need to see a head on pic of the tail. When I read this quickly. I thought you'd need to see "a head on a pike" (spear). Don't get on Shawn's bad side!  BTW, that's a beautiful little eggplant. |
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Post by jcosmo on Feb 26, 2018 19:14:28 GMT -5
Sounds like I have a lot to learn about eggplants! What other plants produce male or female fruit? Will seeds from a male eggplant still grow?
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MaryL
AGA Farmer
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Post by MaryL on Mar 1, 2018 0:01:31 GMT -5
Sounds like I have a lot to learn about eggplants! What other plants produce male or female fruit? Will seeds from a male eggplant still grow? Some cucumbers are male and female blossoms on the same plant, but I don’t know about the fruit. I don’t know much on this subject either. |
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Post by jcosmo on Mar 1, 2018 2:41:48 GMT -5
I Googled it and they all appear to be "male" at this point with shallow, round indentations. I'm still not sure if any are ripe yet, but tomorrow I'm going to try cooking one!
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Shawn
Administrator
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Post by Shawn on Mar 1, 2018 7:20:48 GMT -5
There is a video here that explains the difference between the male and female flowers on plants that indeed have male and female. I know some varieties (Thanks to Corinne) that do not. |
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Post by jcosmo on Mar 1, 2018 21:14:16 GMT -5
Tonight, I picked the big one from the last picture. I meant to weigh it before preparing it but forgot. It weighed 25 grams after roasting in avocado oil with sea salt. It was a little green on the inside, but it still tasted good!   The brussels sprouts in the picture are gargantuan, which makes the eggplant look smaller than it is. Those are 3 brussels sprouts that had a raw weight of 170 grams combined. |
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MaryL
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Post by MaryL on Mar 2, 2018 5:57:23 GMT -5
Nice! Your variety grew a little longer than mine. I like that. Did you taste any bitterness in yours? I did with some of mine.
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Kate
AGA Bounty
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Post by Kate on Mar 2, 2018 10:07:44 GMT -5
What a lovely little eggplant. Now I want to grow those! Do you think when fully loaded you could get enough at one time for a side at a meal for 3?
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MaryL
AGA Farmer
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Post by MaryL on Mar 2, 2018 11:09:02 GMT -5
What a lovely little eggplant. Now I want to grow those! Do you think when fully loaded you could get enough at one time for a side at a meal for 3? With mine, I think so. IIRC, my first harvest had only about 9 eggplants because I wasn’t great about pollinating at first. While that would be enough for a small side, the 2 nd harvest was bigger because I was good about pollinating and definitely produced enough for 3 people. Adrian, what about with your variety? |
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