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When to Harvest Round Eggplant?
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Posted by thaigrower 9 (My Page) on Mon, Sep 14, 09 at 16:30
Howsabout the small round eggplant?
My bushes are six feet tall and so far producing about 1 1/2 inch round white eggplants. The seed package photo shows them as more greenish color. They seem hard as rock but I haven't tried cutting into one yet. How do I know when they're ready??
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: When to Harvest Round Eggplant?
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I notice that there has been no response to your post. So I try to say something.
Most round eggplants that I have seen in Asian market are small, maybe the size of a large egg (Eppplant!!).
One variety is Indian which is dark purple( I have bought and cooked some. They are very tasty and had hard feel to them). Another is Thai eggplant which is mostly green , speckled with white.
I remember seeing white ones too which were oval, slightly longer than an egg and probably about the same diameter as an extra large egg.
I would think that white eggplants should be white when matured and may have green stripes or spot when not quite ripe.
My suggestion to you is to pick one, cut it and check the seeds. If seeds are pronounced then the eggplant is ripe but if the seeds are stil soft and not quite formed then it is too young. |
RE: When to Harvest Round Eggplant?
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| Thanks for the comment Cyrus. I have the Thai white eggplant, brought the seed packet back from my last trip to Thailand. I helped out with the cooking on occasion while there but missed out seeing the eggplant before it was cooked. I did cut into one today, the consistancy of an apple but the seeds are brown and well formed. I'll try cooking some next week.... or sooner. |
RE: When to Harvest Round Eggplant?
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| Hi thaigrower, If your eggplant seeds are brown and well formed then your eggplant might be past its prime. Try to pick the eggplant when seeds are still white and almost blend in with the flesh. I think you might find that the eggplant with well formed seeds will be a tad bitter. I grow different types and always pick young when the seeds are still immature. If the taste you prefer is a bit stronger then using more mature fruit is surely OK. DL |
RE: When to Harvest Round Eggplant?
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As "dancinglemons" said, you should harvest your eggplants sooner. Probably the reason for waiting too long is that you expect them to grow bigger. But those varieties won't get very big. So as soon as they get to normal size, pick them. Eggplants are not supposed to ripen like tomatoes but they are like zuchinnies, cucumbers. But the differenc is that eggplants grow very slowly as compared to zuchinnies and they will not overgrow in size either.
cyrus |
RE: When to Harvest Round Eggplant?
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| Harvest your eggplant when it’s reached the right size for its variety and when its color—whether white, purple or another shade—is uniform, says Michael Colt, University of Idaho extension horticulturist. "If you press the side of a fruit slightly and an indentation remains, the fruit is mature," he says. "Harvest before the flesh becomes tough." |
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