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Post by lynnee on Dec 12, 2021 22:59:01 GMT -5
Day 88. The outdoor eggplant still has ideas about blooming, even though the weather has been cold. It was 39 degrees F. the other night. There really is nowhere to move it indoors, where it would get enough light, or I would do that. Today we have rain, which isn't enough to ease the drought but is very welcome. 🍆  |
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Shawn
Administrator
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Post by Shawn on Dec 13, 2021 3:34:04 GMT -5
I see the buds.
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Post by lynnee on Dec 13, 2021 19:40:02 GMT -5
Day 89, second harvest, 1-1/2 lbs. from three plants. Most came from the solo in the Farm12 Plus, which had fewer eggplants ready at first harvest. At the top in the photo are a triplet and a Siamese twin (fused double).  Harvested eggplants converted to one quart of Moroccan Pickled Eggplant. Eggplants are cooked in white vinegar/garlic/coriander seed liquid for 8-10 minutes with stems on. Stems need to be checked for thorns! I probably overcooked my baby eggplants, but we'll see how they hold up.   |
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Sher
AGA Farmer
Posts: 7,025
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Post by Sher on Dec 13, 2021 20:44:35 GMT -5
Your plants REALLY produced!
Hope the pickles are good. Have you tried making baba ganoush?
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Post by lynnee on Dec 14, 2021 0:10:55 GMT -5
Your plants REALLY produced! Hope the pickles are good. Have you tried making baba ganoush?
Had to look it up, but it sounds good. How do you use it? Spread on bread? Crackers? The eggplants have really surprised me with their production. There are lots more eggplants developing, though not so many blooms right now. I'm hoping for more blooms, now that the plants are unburdened by the larger fruits!  |
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Sher
AGA Farmer
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Post by Sher on Dec 14, 2021 12:41:28 GMT -5
lynnee. my favorite way to eat it is on pita chips.
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Post by lynnee on Dec 25, 2021 19:30:45 GMT -5
It's Day 101, and the three Fairy Tale Eggplants have delivered a big harvest! The bowlful on the left comes from the solo plant (1 pod in the left side of a Farm Plus); the one on the right from the two plants in a Farm 12 XL). It's pretty clear that the eggplants like to have space to grow. I've done very little pruning on the solo plant. It was slower to flower, but has produced as much eggplant as the other two together. I harvested everything that could reasonably be harvested, because the plants have very few blooms. I'm hoping that lots of blooms will appear now that the fruit burden is gone. The leaves on the plants that are sharing a grow deck have some yellowing, and seem dry. The roots look okay, though, so I just did a bit of pruning, and added a small amount of AG nutrients.  |
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Shawn
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Post by Shawn on Dec 26, 2021 6:13:57 GMT -5
Look at all that yumminess
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Sher
AGA Farmer
Posts: 7,025
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Post by Sher on Dec 26, 2021 14:58:40 GMT -5
lynnee, they are so prolific! It makes me wish that I had let my eggplant go longer.
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Post by lynnee on Dec 26, 2021 15:06:26 GMT -5
lynnee, they are so prolific! It makes me wish that I had let my eggplant go longer. Amazing, isn't it? My plan is to keep at least one eggplant going, because Ray likes them a lot. He says the smaller ones (4" or less) have a wonderful delicate flavor, and that the larger ones start to taste more like retail eggplant. I like them too, but my taste buds aren't particularly discriminating.  |
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Post by lynnee on Jan 2, 2022 23:33:09 GMT -5
Day 109. Today I pruned the Fairy Tale Eggplants in hopes of getting another crop out them. They produced a lot of eggplants, but have stopped blooming. The Solo plant in the Farm 12 Plus was treated like it's the end of summer--the whole plant cut back to major stem branchings, so that it can regrow and produce another harvest. (Of course I don't know whether I did it correctly.) The plan is to use regular AG nutrients for this one.  The pair of plants in the Farm 12 XL are showing signs of disease or nutrient deficiency--suggestions welcome!  Instead of cutting the plants back, I pruned them to improve air circulation, and to remove bad leaves, stems that were done producing, and old, large leaves that weren't getting much light. (Again, I don't know whether I did it correctly. Probably I got a bit carried away.) I'll try to coax them to form blooms by using Koolbloom. Before (problem leaf visible at right):  After (two plants can be seen again):  Regardless of how these plants do from here on, I'll be growing more Fairy Tale eggplants. Husband says that the smaller ones (3-4" long) "are a delicacy".  |
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Post by lynnee on Jan 13, 2022 14:22:25 GMT -5
Yesterday (1/12/22) I harvested another batch of Fairy Tale eggplants. There was enough for a substantal side dish for two people. There are only four blooms showing on the three plants, after 120 days.
This is an annual plant, so it remains to be seen whether the plants will produce a second batch of blooms. It's looking like growers should focus on pollinating as many blooms as possible when they first appear, rather than expect the plants to continue to produce over a period of months.
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Post by campingcorgis on Jan 13, 2022 16:12:21 GMT -5
That's good to know, lynnee! Very helpful, indeed! |
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Post by lynnee on Jan 16, 2022 14:47:47 GMT -5
Day 123. Although I'd like to replant the two Farms with Fairy Tale eggplants, I'm keeping eggplants going until it's clear whether they will produce a second batch of blooms. Two weeks ago (1/2/22), I cut the solo plant in the downstairs Farm 12 back dramatically to basic leaves and stems, to encourage the whole plant to grow back. Today the plant is growing leaves (no blooms yet) and looks very healthy. Left photo 1/2/22; right photo 1/15/22. (I'm sorry that the camera angles and distances aren't consistent.)  At the same time, I pruned the two plants in the upstairs Farm 12XL, removing all small branches that had produced fruit, and all leaves that showed signs of nutrient deficiency. I left all the pollinated blossoms and branches with buds: a few days ago I harvested another pound of eggplants. These plants had about 6 blooms total yesterday. Left photo 1/2/22; right photo 1/15/22. (Ditto. The left photo shows the left two-thirds of the photo on the right, and there is a small eggplant underneath if you enlarge the photo.)  I'll keep these for another couple of weeks, then replant unless they start a new crop of blooms. |
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Post by lynnee on Jan 27, 2022 0:29:36 GMT -5
Turns out I was wrong about getting a single crop from each Fairy Tale eggplant. All three plants have grown more leaves and have blooms on the way. The two plants that I cut back conservatively, removing only lower leaves and stems that had already borne fruit, actually have some open blooms again!  |
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Post by lynnee on Jan 29, 2022 20:33:31 GMT -5
At Day 136, the two eggplants in the Farm 12 XL had grown back so much that they needed pruning to restore air circulation. The stems are more fragile than you would expect. I inadvertently snapped the stem (bottom center) of this producing branch, which had open blossoms and a lot of other buds.   |
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maskedsonnet
AGA Farmer
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Post by maskedsonnet on Jan 29, 2022 20:36:42 GMT -5
Always sad when that happens!!!
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Post by campingcorgis on Jan 29, 2022 20:43:35 GMT -5
 Too bad.
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Shawn
Administrator
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Post by Shawn on Jan 30, 2022 5:40:30 GMT -5
I am sorry. I have had that happen with my pepper plants
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Post by lynnee on Feb 5, 2022 15:35:03 GMT -5
All three Fairy Tale eggplants are blooming again, so these are definitely good for a second crop. I only wish that the blossoms wouldn't hide underneath the big leaves! It makes them a bit of a chore to pollinate, given that you have to avoid getting stuck by an occasional thorn. |
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