Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Eggplant

Eggplant has been known in India for 2000+ years! It likes a sandy loam soil for best crop. Clay is too heavy and must be amended. Add sterilized pulverized steer manure down 6" to enrich any soil. Space the well-established seedlings 2 feet apart, in rows 3 feet apart. June 1st is a good day to start them growing outdoors, hopefully with a good root system.

They are fussy about moisture. If it has too little, leaves turn yellow, become spotted and drop; if too much, flowers will not set fruit. Roots are shallow, so carefully cultivate around them to keep down weeds.

Fertilize them weekly with a 20-20-20, but use a lighter concentration for the first month. Switch when flowering begins to a food highest in the middle number, to push for more flowers and fruit.

Cut the fruit from the plant when it is 4" in diameter. Larger ones tend to get bitter. Plants bear profusely. Keep in a cool place until ready to use, but not much longer than 5 days.