egg plant

Texan

Garden Ornament
Joined
Feb 6, 2009
Messages
296
Reaction score
0
Points
84
Location
Houston(ish) Zone 9
miron28 said:
how do you tell when egg plant is ready to be picked?
I dunno either. When I got the plants they just said "eggplant" on them. I just pick them when they look like they stop growing. I got me a good catalog that about 20 different varities of egg plants. They even have red eggplants and white egg plants and purple egg plants that I want to try next season.

Back to your question. I dunno
 

vfem

Garden Addicted
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
7,516
Reaction score
43
Points
242
Location
Fuquay, NC
Man, I am stuck with the same question! I was told to harvest them while they are still 'glossy' on the skin... if they turn 'matte' then they are way over ripe but that's when you need to collect the seeds.

My issue is, mine have been glossy since they started growing, and I have no idea at what SIZE they should be done. Like how big do they get normally?
 

davaroo

Garden Ornament
Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Messages
386
Reaction score
0
Points
98
Location
Aiken, SC - Zone 8
I'm gonna wing it here. It's been a long time since I had eggplant - -

First, time them. Count the days from the time they germinated. This doesn't have to be precise, just get close.
"Lessee, I planted them in mid April and they take 75 days to mature, soooooo...." you get the idea.

If you used started plants or cannot remember that far back, then use the tried and true method - thump them!

They should sound off with a clear sound that seems to run through them, from side to side.
Unripe ones will have a "clunk" sort of sound.

Also, it is okay to harvest them when young. If left too long, they bitter up.

Basically, if they seem ripe... they are good to go.
 

FarmerDenise

Garden Ornament
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
110
Reaction score
0
Points
84
Location
northern california
This whole question is why I like japanese eggplant. You can pick 'em any size and you don't have to wait for monsters. You can pick the regular large ones over-ripe and they don't taste right. if you pick them-under ripe they don't taste right either. I learned by trial and error. Lots of error :p
 

miron28

Attractive To Bees
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
101
Reaction score
0
Points
69
Location
Lenoir, NC
here is mine i know some are over grown but i didn't know when to pick them

6307_egg_plant.jpg

6307_eg_plant.jpg
 
Top