Eggplant Question

I have quite a few small eggplants growing on a very short plant. It really doesn't look like it can support them all, so I'm wondering... If I take the ep's when they are just 2-3", will they be sweet and tender like young'uns, or will they be too immature to use?

You can use eggplants at any time up till they start to mature (ripen). Treat them like you would summer squash, when they get ripe, they are not edible, but anytime before that enjoy. They usually can handle all they set, but you might want to enjoy a few earlier, as you may have an overload later. Black beauty in particular, the bush will keep growing. It wont be so small when the eggplants approach maturity.

The one I'm having the major concern about is a Violetta de Firenzi. The plant is only about 14" tall and has about 10 fruits on it. 2 of them are in the 3" range, so I thought I might use them this weekend to give the others some breathing room!

Thanks for your quick response. I really appreciate all you do for us novices!

Eggplant keeps on giving.
We raise 500 to 600 plants. Various cultivaters.
Pick the fruit regularly, they will keep setting new ones. It will produce untill it dies. It won't die until it freezes. Southern people should get a very long season.
Bernie

I have not grown it, but VIOLETTA DI FIRENZE is a large, long season eggplant with growth habit similar to Black Beauty. I expect your plants will size up. In the meantime enjoy baby eggplant.

Thank you very much for your help. I know I'm being a real PITA here, but when you use them as babies, do you usually leave the skin on? Again, my thoughts are that since they are young, they are probably tender. I thought I would just halve them, and add them into the Stewed Cajun Bass I'm making tonight. I've already picked some Okra and Long Beans, so they will make a nice addition.

Yep, I leave the skins on all the time (I normally grow Ichiban types). Have never grown your Violetta before but if they are young'ns I'd go ahead and leave the skin on.

Shoe

Will do - oh, boy!

The only eggplants I remove the skin from are the large fat ones. Sometimes their skin is kind of thick. All of the young or skinny ones that I have tried taste great with the skin on.
Betty

Sequee, Plantfiles could sure benefit by some pictures of VIOLETTA DI FIRENZE.

I took a couple of the plant and will take a couple of shots of the fruits when they develop more. Just need to get them added. I did add in a few tomatoes earlier this week, as well as some okra.

I must add to the Eggplant thread. I made a new tomato bed by ripping out sod and tilling in a bunch of organic material....no fertilizer. I planted Cloud Nine, Zebra and an oriental long Feng Juan (?) and Blue Marble. The Blue Marbles are tasty, but not as productive as the others. Also planted paste tomatoes because my other garden beds had become contaminated with some sort of virus that maters get, so I was bound and determined to have enough tomatoes to make my freezer marinara sauce. So far, I have made 6 gaallons. I think I'll quit. Back to the eggplants.....I have never had such vigorous and such huge eggplants in all my forty something years of raising them. The Cloud Nines are 4 feet tall with the Zebras a close second. Anyone need eggplant?

For those of you that love breaded deep fried eggplant I discovered that you can batter and fry several sliced eggplants- place them on paper towels to cool-then place them on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper and freeze them- then stack them in plastic containers with a small piece of parchment paper between slices. Allows you to fry up a large batch while the grease (peanut oil 375 degrees)is hot and then take some out of the freezer and heat them(I use the toaster oven) and they taste fresh fried!

We use eggplant in all kinds of things.
I learned from some one years ago when I was complaining about not be able to get oysters they said, try a mock oyster stew.

Haha, got my attention!
Short of tha story is; using young, less seeds tha better its not bad!
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Do what ever you would do with the oyster to make a stew.
Jus use eggplant.