Vegetable Gardening (29 page)

Distinguishing Eggplants by Shape

Lest you think peppers are the only international travelers with variety and a zest for life, eggplants also come in a range of shapes, colors, and sizes. I arrange the varieties in this section by shape so you can choose the variety that's right for your taste and use. The days to maturity in the variety descriptions represent the time from transplant to harvest.

Large and oval

Large, oval eggplants are the varieties that most people are familiar with. They're the dark purple, teardrop-shaped fruits that you see in grocery stores. The plants grow 3- to 4-feet tall, each producing an average of eight to ten fruits. These eggplants are great in casseroles. Here are some of my favorite varieties to grow:

‘Black Beauty':
These large heirloom purple-skinned eggplants grow best in areas with long, hot growing seasons. They mature in 75 days.

‘Black Opal':
This hybrid, dark purple, teardrop-shaped variety is a bit smaller than the ‘Black Beauty,' but it has a similar creamy texture and flavor. Very productive plants have fruits produced in 65 days.

‘Cloud Nine':
This hybrid has pure-white skin and a delicate flavor with no bitterness. The fruits are best harvested when they're 7 inches long. They mature in 75 days.

‘Florida High Bush':
This is an heirloom variety from Florida that loves the heat. Large, upright plants produce 10-inch-long, black-purple-skinned fruits in 85 days.

‘Purple Rain':
These beautiful, white-striped, lavender-skinned hybrid eggplants mature early at 66 days and are productive.

‘Rosa Bianca':
This Italian heirloom features white fruits with lavender streaks. These fruits, which are best adapted to warm regions, mature in 75 days.

Cylindrical

Traditionally called Oriental eggplants, these cylindrical fruits are long and thin (2 inches wide and up to 10 inches long). The plants are smaller than the oval-shaped varieties, reaching only 2 to 3 feet tall, and produce about 15 fruits. They're great grilled or used in hors d'oeuvres. These are a few of my favorite varieties:

‘Fairy Tale':
This early-maturing (50 days), AAS-winning hybrid variety features purple-and-white-striped fruits that form in clusters. They're best when harvested at 3 to 4 inches long. The fruits are free of bitterness, have few seeds, and are highly productive.

‘Hansel':
This AAS-winning hybrid variety features deep-purple, finger-shaped fruits that can be harvested when they're 3 to 4 inches long, which usually takes 55 days. This variety is very productive. A sister to ‘Hansel' is ‘Gretel', which has the same characteristics except that the fruit has white skin.

‘Ping Tung Long':
These long, lavender-skinned fruits grow in areas with good heat and humidity. The open-pollinated plants are disease resistant, and the fruits take 65 days to mature.

‘Raveena':
This hybrid variety features vigorous plants that yield light green, cylindrical fruit in clusters in 70 days. They're best when harvested before they reach 9 inches long.

‘Vittoria':
This hybrid has purple-black skin and is best when harvested at 10 inches long. The fruit matures in 61 days.