5. Good Organic Gardening - September-October 2016 AvxHome.in

Eggplant | FAMILY HEIRLOOMS
‘Slim Jim’
‘White Star’
‘Thai Long Green’
Growing
Eggplants enjoy a long, warm growing
season. Seed can be sown into seedling
pots in spring in temperate and subtropical
areas and transplanted when the risk of
frost has passed, or they can be sown
direct into warm soil. Seed can be sown all
year in tropical areas.
Grow your plants in full sun in rich,
well-drained soil that has been enriched
with compost and organic matter. Feed
with a complete liquid food throughout
the growing season and keep the water
up, particularly when the young fruit
begins to develop. If eggplants are moisture
stressed, the fruit can become bitter. Some
of the taller or heavy-fruiting varieties may
need staking.
Harvest
Pick your eggplants when they’re shiny,
firm and unwrinkled. Fruit that is past its
prime can be bitter with tough skin and
large seeds. Eggplants are less likely to
make your mouth pucker when the flesh is
creamy and the seeds are the same colour
as the flesh.
To harvest, simply cut the ripe fruit from
the plant, leaving about an inch of the
stem attached.
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