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Any advice for Black Beauty Eggplant?
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Posted by megmaine 4b/5a (My Page) on Tue, Mar 17, 09 at 7:58
| My eggplant seeds are coming up, and from what I have read, they can be grown in Maine, but I may need to grow them in pots so as to take them indoors for the chilly nights.
Has anyone grown Black Beauty or other eggplants successfully in Maine? How did you do it?
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Any advice for Black Beauty Eggplant?
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| Yep. I grew them here last year in my first Maine garden and I grew them back in the Adirondacks (Lake Placid area) for years in temperatures somewhat colder than here in Oxford County. The trick is to grow them under plastic in the early part of the season and cover them again around Labor Day. I build small wooden A frames across the bed and cover it with plastic. Attach the plastic in a way that it will be easy to open up the "tent" early in the day so they don't cook and close them up again as the sun begins to set. A whole lot easier than carrying pots indoors. I've set plants out as early as May 9th under plastic and had them still ripening in late October. (With a Sept 10th frost date.) Wayne |
RE: Any advice for Black Beauty Eggplant?
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| Thanks! I really appreciate that... maybe I will put them in the place where the hardy mums are, as that's about the only place I get full sun all day without being shaded in late afternoon by tall houses right next to us, and that's a "hot area" that already has had crocus up for a week now, and daffodils are 5 inches out of the ground. Hate to uproot the hardy mums, because they have done so well there and are so big and beautiful, but maybe they would transplant? Can't waste such a prime hot spot on anything less than peppers and eggplant this year. :) |
RE: Any advice for Black Beauty Eggplant?
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| Last year I had success with eggplant starts I bought at the nursery. I put them out at the same time as my tomato plants (late May) and they produced like crazy until frost. They were the long skinny type though, sounds like the big ones require a longer season. As for the hardy mums, I inherited a huge patch with my house and have moved them with abandon the last couple years in spring - they don't skip a beat. I keep them well watered for the first couple of weeks, but after that they thrive on their own. They're pretty tough. |
RE: Any advice for Black Beauty Eggplant?
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| I grow them every year with great success, although I am a solid zone 5b. I think a lot depends on the variety. 'Black Beauty' is the typical large purple Italian-type like you get in the supermarkets and has a long days-to-maturity time. I've been growing the Asian kinds like 'Neon' and 'Ichiban' -they are skinnier than the typical Black Beauty but if sliced on the diaganol you can do anything with them. Last year I tried 'Dusky' which resembles the dark purple Italian types, but it was by far the earliest and most prolific yet of any eggplants I have grown, and is shaped more traditionally like the fat Italian eggplants. |
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