It’s Time to Pot Your Seeds for Eggplant

Although it is too early to set out plants for eggplant, now is a good time to plant the seeds in pots for later transplanting.

Why grow eggplant from seeds when every nursery has transplants for sale? Because many of the more interesting varieties aren’t available in nurseries, and, if you want to sample these, you will have to grow them from seeds.

Here is a rundown of varieties that are usually not available as bedding plants and are either unusual or superior producers.

Violette di Firence--This beauty comes from Italy. Its gorgeous fruits are a rich lavender with white stripes. It has a mild, subtle eggplant flavor. This my favorite eggplant. I grow it every year.

Easter Egg--A delightful novelty that grows small and compact--a natural for container growing. The fruit are the size, shape and color of hen’s eggs, and each plant can produce as many as 30. Fruit will turn yellow when overripe and past the eating stage.

Tycoon Hybrid--In recent years, the long, thin Japanese eggplants have become increasingly popular, and with good reason; they have a distinctive, delicate flavor. Unlike other eggplants, the Japanese varieties have a purplish tint to their foliage. “Tycoon” is the most vigorous and productive of these Japanese varieties.

Imperial Hybrid--Though it resembles the Japanese kinds, Imperial is a European variety of excellent quality. Quite productive, it will produce as many as 20 purplish-black fruits that have a marvelous flavor and texture.

Dusky Hybrid--This is the earliest-bearing eggplant and a good bet for cooler coastal areas. It is a big producer of glossy, dark-purple, medium-size oval fruit. Plants are compact and may be spaced only 18 inches apart. Also a good container variety.

Plant seeds in pots and place in a sunny window or other warm, protected area. If the seedlings have been raised indoors, when they are 5 weeks old, gradually expose them to outdoor conditions; one hour the first day, two the next, and so on, for one week. Then transplant into the warmest, sunniest area of your garden.

Space the plants 3 feet apart. The transplanting procedure is crucial. They should be transplanted in the early evening when the temperature is cool, and they should be watered gently after transplanting. Sprinkle daily for five days, or until they take root. After plants become established, water them slowly and deeply on a weekly basis.

You can harvest your first eggplant 70 to 80 days after transplanting, and the plants should bear until November or December. They are ready to harvest when they have a very glossy shine.

These seeds are difficult to find locally but can be ordered. Seeds for “Violette di Firence” are available from the Cooks Garden, Box 65, Londonderry, Vt. 05148. All others: Twilley Seeds, Box T65, Trevose, Pa. 19047.