Eggplant is a vegetable that really knows how to get its groove on in the summer heat.
Sometimes just by looking at a plant you can tell it copes well under duress, and the eggplant is a formidable looking vegetable – shiny and curvy in all of the right places. The plant’s tough leaves grow broadly, in effect shielding the soil beneath against overheating. The fruit itself has a dark, leathery skin with annoying spikes on its neck – as if announcing inedibility. Surely when the first human ate an eggplant, their situation must have been quite bleak.
When selecting a variety of eggplant to grow, let the timing of the season help you choose. Thinner varieties, such as Lebanese, develop earlier than larger fruit and also cope better earlier in the season.
PLANTING
Propagate in seed trays. Then transplant the seedlings into the veggie patch. Eggplant are suitable for larger pots, but prefer an in-ground veggie patch.
WATERING
Water daily for the first 4 weeks and 3-4 times a week in the absence of rainfall thereafter. Watering frequency may need to be elevated during hot weather.
In Pots: Water daily, in the absence of rainfall, for the entirety of its lifecycle. The best practice is to water in the morning, however on extremely warm days a late afternoon water may also be necessary.
MAINTENANCE
Transplant the seedlings into the patch long after the last frosts, at half the spacing of mature plants. Then mulch to a depth of 3–5cm with pea straw or lucerne hay.
If all seedlings have taken after 8 weeks, thin them out to the required spacing of approximately 50cm.
Apply liquid potassium at 12 weeks to encourage flower growth and development of the eggplants/ Stake plants now before they become heavily laden with fruit.
Begin harvesting around 16 weeks. Size is the real consideration with an eggplant as the taste doesn’t alter much between small and large fruit. Don’t leave them on the vine until the skin toughens and turns yellow, as the inside will become porous and chalky.
At the end of the season eggplants can be cut back to a bare skeleton and left dormant in the ground to reshoot the following warm season. This only works in more temperate areas, so in colder climates, incubation will be necessary.
HARVESTING
Time until first harvest: About 16 weeks
How to harvest: Snip eggplant from the plant using sharp scissors or secateurs. Size is the real consideration with an eggplant, as the taste doesn’t alter much between a small and large fruit. Don’t leave them on the vine until skin toughens and turns yellow, as the inside will become porous and chalky.
TIP
Eggplants can be cut back to a bare skeleton and left dormant in the ground to reshoot the following warm season. This only works in more temperate areas, so in colder climates, incubation will be necessary.
