Comments on: Eggplant Harvest

By: lyn

lyn — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:40:34 +0000

Hi just want to thank you all for the notes on here its very educational.

I am growing asparagus now and enjoying it.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:23:47 +0000

Kenny,

Thanks for the tips. Do you have any idea if there is a way to prevent that virus you are talking about with my cukes? I grew many cuke plants from seeds and they all looked like they were doing great, but I’ve gotten next to nothing. Several actually grew into round balls?! lol Some have turned yellow.

I’ve harvested 2 eggplants so far and have a few more going which is great. They’re not very big, but still good.

By: Kenny Point

Kenny Point — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:33:08 +0000

Joe, its more a matter of allowing the seeds inside the eggplant fruits to fully develop and mature before harvesting. Likewise for peppers that you are growing for seed you would not harvest until after the fruits have turned completely red, yellow, purple, or whatever color they change to at maturity. You would remove the seeds from the pulp, dry them, and store them in a cool, dry location. I you have more than one variety or related plants growing in the garden then there are also tricks that you would need to know to keep the varieties isolated and maintain the seed’s purity.

The cucumbers likely were affected by a virus which is pretty common for cukes. The corn may not have received adequate pollination if you did not plant it in blocks rather than rows to allow the wind to spread the pollen among the plants.

You are doing very good for a new gardener… keep up the good work and stop by any time you have a question.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 05:20:06 +0000

Hello,

I started my first garden this year, to varying degrees of success. I bought 4 eggplant plants and all have some growing. Minus the pesky bugs, the plants have been doing well.

I noticed up above that someone mentioned letting the eggplants stay on the plant itself if you are looking to save seeds. Is this true, and does it help the seeds stay preserved somehow? How long do you let the fruit on the plants, and how does one preserve the seeds through winter so they are successful seedlings the following year?

Also, as a general note, does anyone know why I have some plants like the eggplants and tomatoes that are growing several fruit, but yet my corn failed, my watermelon plants only have a few fruit, and my cucumbers mostly died off with only 2 growing anything at all? My cucumber plants have only grown a couple cucumbers, and while some little ones start, they just end up drying up even though they are watered.

Any helpful tips would be appreciated!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:55:13 +0000

I tried growing eggplants for the first time this year. Out of ten plants only two have produced eggplants. The others have flowered and appear to be doing well. Should I be doing anything to help the others produce eggplants.

By: Kenny Point

Kenny Point — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:07:16 +0000

Lorraine, you can harvest eggplants at any stage from baby sized fruits up to their fully mature size. They are really not fussy about harvest time, if you are going away I would harvest all of the decent sized eggplants before leaving and leave the smaller fruits to continue maturing.

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:59:18 +0000

Hi, I had questions that I posted on your other site – Growing Eggplant – and now I have a question about harvesting. I first noticed baby eggplants about three weeks ago and all are growing, just not very fast. My first “baby” is about three weeks old and the size of a softball, the rest are about the size of a tennis ball. The plants are the Black Beauty variety. I fertilize every week with Miracle Grow. I am hoping they will be large enough to harvest by mid-July; I am going on vacation for a week and this unpredictable Florida weather may not grant rain that week and I don’t want to loose them all. Any idea on time to maturity? Thanks for your great advice!

By: TOM

TOM — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:55:13 +0000

EGGPLANT CAPONATA
This is an old Itilian recipy that my mom and I use to make
HERE WE GO .

5 LARGE EGGPLANTS—– DICED ABOUT 1 IN, CUBES

2 LARGE ONIONS ——- SLICED

1 lb GREEN OLIVES [ OR ] 1 JAR
(depit and slice)

1 SMALL JAR CAPERS — 4 OZ.

2 STALKS CELERY — DICED

***************************************************************************************************

BOIL ONIONS AND CELERY LIGHTLY AND DRAIN,SET ASIDE.
SALT AND SAUTE EGGPLANT IN OLIVE OIL A LITTLE AT A TIME.
REMOVE EACH BATCH FROM PAN. WHEN ALL EGGPLANT IS
SAUTED, PUT IN LARGEPOT. ADD ONIONS, CELERY, OLIVES, CAPERS
AND MIX TOGETHER.

ADD TO MIXTURE,
3 8OZ. CANS TOMATO SAUCE
2/3 CUP VINEGAR
3/4 CUP SUGAR
1 TEASPOON PEPPER

SIMMER APPROX. 25 – 30 MIN. IF TO DRY, ADD MORE TOMATO SAUCE.
DO NOT OVERCOOK ******** ENJOY AND HAVE FUN.

************************************************************************
Let cool and place in glass jars and store in frig. it will keep for several weeks, if it last that long, or you can “can” and store in cool place.