What ’s round , pear - influence , or oblong , and often a ample purple color ? If you hold up in the United States , English - speaking Canada , Australia , or New Zealand , you know it as eggplant ( Solanum melongena ) .
Or maybe “ guinea fowl squash , ” if you live in the southern states .
In other English - speaking parting of the globe , including Ireland and the UK , you probably call it mad apple instead . This is also true in Quebec and much of Europe .
Photo by Judy Gallagher, Wikimedia Commons, viaCC BY-SA.
This pretty word is also used to describe the deep violet semblance of an eggplant bush , and I personally love using it in writing whenever the chance arises .
In English - speaking portions of South Africa , Malaysia , and South Asia , this extremity of the nightshade family , Solanaceae , is often known as “ brinjal . ”
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Whatever you happen to call it , this delightful Chuck Berry ( we ’ll get into this startling fact in a minute ! ) grows well in a container .
So if you do n’t have space in your garden , or you go in an urban area and desire to add aubergine to your terrace container garden , S. melongenais an idealistic selection .
quick to originate ? lease ’s get lead off !
Here ’s what we ’ll get over :
What You’ll Learn
An Eggplant Primer
eggplant bush typically produce 18 to 36 in tall with a bedcover of 24 to 36 inches . Each plant in general bear between two and 12 fruits , although this number varies based on the smorgasbord and get conditions .
If you ’ve ever enjoy a home plate of crispy , savory eggplant parmesan with marinara sauce , you might be surprised to learn that you ’re eating two kinds of berries : the eggplant , and thetomatoes .
This is because , botanically speaking , a true Chuck Berry is a yield that build up from one peak that has one ovary .
Our garden egg acquaintance fits into this category . Yet , despite its classification as a Chuck Berry and its center filled with seeds , nutritionists and chef likewise consider it a veg .
And while Americans might be most conversant with the elongated , pear - shaped , drear - over-embellished adaptation of the vegetable , its tenacious history of cultivation has resulted in fruit of several different sizes , shapes , and spectre of white , dark-green , pinkish , purple , and even orangish .
It ’s popular in culinary art worldwide . In Malaysia , sambal eggplant is a spicy , delicious peach well served over rice .
And one of my favorite dish to eat at any Indian eating place is baingan bharta , a curry made with minced or mashed eggplant . This sweetheart and its many sport are popular in India , Bangladesh , and Pakistan .
In Lebanon , Greece , and Turkey , Captain Cook make a succulent dish of eggplant stuff with various ingredients – rice , lamb or squawk , pine tree crank , onion plant , and more . Delicious !
And it is alimental , too : the fruits are rich in atomic number 19 and folate , along with other key vitamin and mineral .
If you know inUSDA Hardiness Zones5 through 12 , you’re able to uprise it outdoors in containers .
S. melongenais a perennial works in warm climates , so those of you in zone 10 to 12 can savour harvests yr after yr from the same plant life .
The rest of us have to grow it as an annual open air , because this fellow member ofthe nightshade crime syndicate – which includespotatoes , tomatoes , andpeppers – does not like the cold .
In addition , this industrial plant thrives in rich , loamy soil with a pH between 5.5 and 7.2 .
Why Grow in a Container?
redeem infinite is the main reason to grow garden egg orother vegetable in containers . It ’s the unadulterated alternative for those who do n’t have with child yards or gardens – and even for those whose garden are already overflowing with all sorts of other delectation and just do n’t have room for a Modern addition in the earth .
aubergine is also one of those vegetables that conform well tocontainer growth , producing pile of delectable fruit despite its more confined surroundings .
SinceS. melongenais perennial if given the veracious conditions , you may even bring the industrial plant indoors over the winter to keep it live until the conditions warm up again in the spring .
So find a squeamish , gay pip on your terrace and get ready to grow some eggplant bush !
Choosing the Right Container
You ’ll want a pot that ’s 12 to 14 inches deep and wide if you ’re growing a stocky variety , or a 20 - inch - deep sess if you ’re not .
you may grow one compact plant in a 12- to 14 - inch can , or one regular - sized works in a 20 - inch pot . If you ’d like an supererogatory - large yield , you’re able to also choose to grow two compact cultivars in one 20 - inch sens .
check that the container you choose has drainage hole so the soil does n’t get sloppy , which could potentially cause root disease to prepare .
Since the plant is bound to get a little backbreaking , what with all those delicious fruits hanging off it , you ’ll want to enthrone in a uncompromising container that wo n’t tap over well .
Terra cotta works well , or a wooden whisky gun barrel planter with enough fissure to allow for adequate drain . Even a tough , heavy plastic planter can work .
To explore extra choice , check outour guide to choosing the right potfor your container garden .
Also , keep in judgement that if you pick out to implant a regular - sized cultivar that grows up to three feet tall ( or possibly taller , if it ’s allowed to grow as a perennial ) , you ’ll need a tomato batting cage to support the flora and its fruit .
Preparing Your Container
Fill your chosen container with fresh potting mixing , and supply some vegetable - specific fertilizer allot to package instructions .
I like this all - lifelike 4 - 4 - 4 ( NPK ) vegetable garden fertilizer from Down to Earth , available from Arbico Organics .
Down to Earth Vegetable Garden Fertilizer
Alternatively , you could utilize a potting mix with added fertilizer , such as Nature ’s Care Organic , available from the Home Depot .
Nature ’s Care Organic Potting Mix
If you really have to use garden soil , you’re able to do so as long as you mix it 50 - 50 with well - rotted manure or compost .
nullify using grime that was already used to mature another phallus of the nightshade family , as it could carry diseases or pestilence that may taint your eggplant .
SinceS. melongenalikes soil with a pH between 5.5 and 7.2 , you may want toconduct a soil testbefore you get started , especially if you ’re using garden soil that may be alkaline or too acidic .
Propagation
To get started on your path to scrumptious eggplant - free-base dishes , you’re able to either set forth seedling indoors , unmediated inseminate them in your containers , or simply purchase transplants from a nursery .
Sowing Seeds Indoors
Sow seed indoors eight calendar week before your arena ’s average last frost particular date . I like to use seed trays with humidity domes on top to help lock in moisture .
You could also sow in them right in the container you ’re cash in one’s chips to be growing them in .
These seedling trays from MIXC , usable from Amazon , come with adjustable humidness domes . I ’ve reused mine several time ! ( After a deep clean and jerk and a soak in bleach - infuse water to kill off any potential disease , of course . )
Seedling tray
Fill each seed cell or container with seed - start intermixture and place two seeds inside , a poop of an inch deep . Cover with potting mix , spray with water , and set a humidity noggin or some plastic wrapper on top of the seeded player tray .
Keep the seed moist and warm , and they should sprout in 10 to 21 solar day . Once sprouting occur , keepa grow lighttrained one in aside from the plants , adjust it as they grow , for 12 to 14 hours during the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
When the seedling have at least one set of rightful leaves , thin them by lift the smaller one in each cell off at the stand so the bigger one can grow and expand , entrust no more than one seedling growing per cell .
After your indoor starts ( or greenhouse transplants ) are at least four inch tall and all risk of frost has overstep in your orbit , you could transplant them into your container outdoors .
Just make a hole in the potting premix in your container the size of it of the seed cell transplanting , gently loosen the babe plant from its electric cell , and gear up it in its newfangled base . implant it at the same depth as it was growing in the previous batch .
Backfill with soil and H2O thoroughly .
Direct-Sow Seeds in Containers
If you live in a warm area where temperatures routinely outride above 65 ° atomic number 9 at nighttime in the leap , you may lead - sow seeds into your container outside .
industrial plant two seeds a quarter of an inch deep in each container . verify the pots are in an area that receive full Lord’s Day , and keep the soil moist until sprouting occurs .
If you are planting compact varieties in a 20 - inch container , blank each set of two seeds four inch asunder .
Seedlings should emerge within three weeks . Once they have one or two sets of true foliage , slim them to just one seedling per container .
Or , if you ’re growing two plants in one larger container , thin so that there are just two plants ( or else of four ) .
How to Grow
Give each flora a slow , thick watering at least once a week .
If you notice that the leaf begin to wilt before the next week begin , give them another watering , keeping the soil lightly moist . Keep in mind that containers dry out a lot faster than the terra firma does !
You want the soil to feel like a well wrung out sponge , not oversaturated , and not dried out either .
Add a one- to two - inchlayer of organic mulch , such asstraw , bark fleck , orleaf mold , over the top of the ground to avail lock up moisture in .
Every match of days , press your digit about two in down into the grunge . If you feel nothing but dryness , it ’s clip to weewee .
Make trusted to nullify overhead irrigation . Soggy leave are more prone to developing fungal issue .
If you ’re using a tomato plant cage to help support the fruit , place the coop in your container when the plant life has one or two hardening of lawful leaves .
put it in the container at planting or transplantation time helps you avoid jab the cage down into a well - educate root system , potentially break up the plant ’s growth and wellness .
Up until you see the first heyday , fertilize your plant life with a balanced fertiliser accord to package instructions .
After the works begins to flower , you ’ll want to ramp up the potassium and atomic number 15 levels , so aim for a weekly dose of a 5 - 10 - 10 ( NPK ) fertilizer .
mad apple are self - fecund , and the flower are pollinated by wind or sealed type of bees through a appendage called bombination pollenation , moving the pollen from the anthers to the brand .
But if you require to help the pollination process along , you could memorise to hand pollinate eggplantsin our guide .
If you ’re prosperous enough to live in a growing zone that allows aubergine to flourish as perennial , your plants will keep flowering and fruit all fall and winter long , render nighttime temperature do n’t drop below 65 ° F .
Your plant life will stay alive if the temperature fall below 65 ° F as long as it stays above freezing , but it will stop produce blossom and fruit . And if temporary worker drop to 32 ° F or below , it wo n’t exist . Keep an eye on the weather forecast in your area to check that the temperature stays favourable .
If a abruptly - subsist freeze is coming , you may be capable to keep your plant by adding an superfluous three - inch layer of mulch and draping arow coverover the plant .
habituate your tomato cage to stand the row cover , or add stakes driven three to five inch into the container if you have n’t used a tomato John Cage for support . Guide them into the soil slowly and essay not to disturb the roots . Or , you could just bring the mass into a garage or other protect area for the duration of the cold trance .
As far as keeping the plants warm enough run , it remove a bit more work if you decide to tackle the challenge of bringing your container indoors for the winter . We spread over this separately , in our guide to indoor growing . ( coming soon ! )
Growing Tips
Cultivars to Select
Let ’s take a look at a few of the best thickset mad apple cultivar to maturate in a container . These wo n’t ask backing if you do n’t want to use them , although you’re able to add a love apple cage if you like .
Fairy Tale
If you want tiny , delicate fruit with a striking imperial - and - livid coloring , try ‘ Fairy Tale , ’ one of the best hybrid out there for container growing .
Maturing in only 50 days , this plant grows just 16 to 18 inch tall and spread out 12 inches , making it one of the most compact aubergines around .
‘ Fairy Tale ’
Each pretty yield is just four to five in recollective at maturity , although you ’re boost to pick at two to three inches for peak sweet and flavor .
you’re able to get seeds in a multifariousness of packet sizesavailable from True Leaf Market .
Finger Fruit Purple
For dark purple miniature eggplant that expect ready to nosh on off the bush , sample ‘ Finger Fruit Purple . ’ But really , do n’t block to cook them first .
This variety produces stretch fruit about four or five inches in duration and one to two inches wide .
break up them when they ’re the size of a finger for a sweet , meek , succulent smell . Roast them whole and serve with your favorite stir - nipper or spaghetti mantrap !
‘ Finger Fruit Purple ’
‘ Finger Fruit Purple ’ grows and diffuse between 18 and 24 inch , puddle it an ideal choice for growing in a container .
This heirloom multifariousness matures in 65 day after germination , and you could encounter seedsavailable from Eden Brothers .
Rosa Bianca
Do you woolgather of show off fresh - pick , lavender - and - white eggplants on your kitchen mesa ? Then depend no further than ‘ Rosa Bianca , ’ a cultivar that develop 24 inch grandiloquent and spreads 18 inch .
‘ Rosa Bianca ’
This Italian heirloom produces round yield that are five to six inch retentive and wide at maturity , but you ’ll want to pick them when they ’re around two to three inches in size for the good flavor .
‘ Rosa Bianca ’ matures 80 to 85 days after germination , and you could buy seeds or newcomer plantsfrom Burpee .
Managing Pests and Disease
As with all of the tasty vegetables and fruits , there are several pests and diseases that can raven on your aubergines . With a bit of care and a watchful eye , you could assist to prevent the most serious takings .
have ’s take a look at the top plague and diseases to look out for when grow in container .
Pests
The eggplant flea beetle ( Epitrix fuscula ) is one of the most vulgar and annoying garden egg pests around . The four- to five - mm - long black or brownish insects hop all over your plant life and chew holes through the leaves .
While they do n’t well kill entire plants , they ’re a pain that can kill leaf and weaken a immature aubergine ’s health . They ’re most common in the southerly United States , but can appear anywhere .
To avail forbid infestation , avoid planting strawberry and white potato vine near your eggplant , asE. fusculaloves both of those crops as well .
Monterey Garden Insect Spray
If you detect flea beetle damage , spray with Monterey Garden Insect Spray , an organic pesticideavailable from Arbico Organics , according to software program instructions .
And read with flea beetle in the garden here .
Eggplant lace bugs ( Gargaphia solani ) are another common pest . These four - millimeter - long , two - millimetre - all-inclusive insects are browned and blockish with lacelike annexe .
They tend to stay put in the southern and southeastern part of the United States , although they ’ve been known to travel as far west as Arizona and as far N as Connecticut .
These insects manducate the leave , causing yellowish discolored spot , and lay eggs on the undersides of the foliage .
An infestation can apace cause full leaf to die , which sickens the plant and can even run to an untimely death .
To help foreclose lace bug universe from choose up residence in your container , keep your mad apple away from other members of the Solanaceae family , as well as helianthus and salvia .
Bonide Insecticidal Soap
To handle infestations , spray the affected field with Bonide insecticidal grievous bodily harm , available from Arbico Organics .
The two - spotted wanderer speck ( Tetranychus urticae ) is another cuss to watch out for . But it ’s hard to see , at just one - fiftieth of an inch in sizing ! It ’s easy to tell these pests are around from the webbing they pass on behind .
These mites love ironical , dust-covered condition and pass all throughout the United States . They feed on the leaves , blow out sap and get leaf to turn yellow and go bad .
To get rid of an exist infestation , remove the webbing as best as you’re able to and spray the leaves with neem oil or insecticidal soap .
You canlearn more about wanderer mites in our guide .
Physiological Conditions and Diseases
Blossom terminal decomposition , triggered by a deficiency of Ca in the eggplant yield , results in pee - soaked lesions that get larger over meter .
This issue is due to a lack of effective atomic number 20 absorption – a physiological condition rather than a disease get by a pathogen – but it is a problem that looks terrible .
you could still use up fruits afflicted with flower ending rot , but you ’ll have to cut away the rotted portion first .
To avoid blossom end rot , make trusted the grease pH is between 5.5 and 7.2 so the plant can effectively engross important nutrients , like Ca .
It ’s also of import that you avoid disturbing the roots , as this can break them , causing them to have difficulty suck nutrient . If you ’re going to utilize a tomato plant coop , put one in early on .
Unlike blossom end rot , the disease known as colletotrichum fruit putrefaction is have by a fungus – Colletotrichum melongenae . Colletotrichum fruit rot causes drop pinkish - brown lesions to appear on the yield .
Also visit anthracnose , this fungal disease is well prevented by avoid overly dampish condition that can lead to rot .
Avoid overhead watering , for example , and if there ’s an excessiveness of rainwater and humidness , consider use a preventive antifungal copper spray to the industrial plant .
This is also the best way to handle an affected flora . Remove the diseased fruit , and if you wish , you could cut the rotted luck off and feed what ’s left . Then spray the foliage according to package instructions .
Early blight , because of the fungusAlternaria solani , causes seedlings to suddenly die . But it can also touch eggplants later on in their development , first showing up as ringed point on the lower leaves , and then spreading to the rest of the plant .
To avoid early blight in your eggplant harvest , do n’t keep your container in an area where you are produce other nightshades , as they can easy spread the fungus to one another .
address plants by removing and toss away touched yield and spraying what ’s left with copper fungicide , according to software teaching .
Harvesting
When the fruit is about one - third to half of its fledged size as described on theseed packetor plant life recording label and has a glossy shininess , it ’s time to pick !
Do n’t expect to pick behemoths like the ones you see at the grocery store . Every diverseness grows to a slightly unlike size , and brinjal will savor better if you pick them before they reach maturity .
And as a fillip , the plant life will put more energy into producing unexampled fruits once you pick a few .
To reap , put on a brace of gardening gloves first , as aubergine tend to have thorns on and around the stems .
With a crisp duet of scissors , cut the shank about an in or two away from the fruit .
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
If you happen to be vegetarian and gluten - free , you know that sometimes it may feel like your formula option are limited .
Not so when it come to mad apple ! This hearty vegetable makes a perfect rack - in for centre in many recipes .
Like this eggplant , borecole , and ricotta cannelloni recipe , available from our sis website , Foodal .
Or this recipe for caramelise aubergine and pesto pasta , also from Foodal .
But of course , you could savour brinjal even if you love meat . Just tryFoodal ’s recipefor brinjal stuffed with meat and vegetables to find out for yourself what a delightful jazz band this can be .
An Egg-cellent Plant
There ’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the gleaming purple fruits of your proletariat waiting to be hook and plat for your dining joy .
In the meantime , for more info ongrowing eggplantin your garden , check out these guidebook next :
picture by Raquel Welch © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . production photos via Arbico Organics , Burpee , Eden Brothers , Home Depot , MIXC , and dead on target Leaf Market . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock . With additional writing and editing by Clare Groom and Allison Sidhu .
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Laura Ojeda Melchor
