The eggplant that won't stop giving and my asparagus experiment

Here in the Middle South, at least in Fayetteville, we got a much welcomed drenching.  I went to check on my plants just now and the remaining ones look pretty good.  I thought I'd show you my eggplant.



I was going to clear it out but it suddenly started to make blossoms.  I subsequently gave it a generous amount of 5 compost mix.   Our local bees and butterflies did their job and the above is the result.  I have never successfully raised an eggplant, so I have no idea if this is normal for October.

Also, I'm posting a picture of my asparagus experiment.  I got 12 two year crowns for 2 bucks from Lowe's when they were clearing them out (Mary Washington).  I probably should have gone with a larger male only hybrid... but all of this was an after thought.




The above box has eight of the twelve in it.  I'd say that right now they are about four/five feet high.  I also gave these guys a 5 compost meal.   I think they might be good enough to get through winter, but I can also easily tarp them with this set up.

If anyone has any thoughts on the care of these plants, please feel free to holler.

I'm happy for you.

It's been so wet/ cold & miserable over here save for a two week summer in July that even my tomatoes in the glass house struggled to grow .
I have two large Aubergine ( egg plants ) in the glass house that are absolutely covered in flowers and not a hint of a fruit , even though I've been paint brush pollinating them plant to plant , also with tomato and zucchini flowers

Windmere wrote:Here in the Middle South, at least in Fayetteville, we got a much welcomed drenching.  I went to check on my plants just now and the remaining ones look pretty good.  I thought I'd show you my eggplant.



I was going to clear it out but it suddenly started to make blossoms.  I subsequently gave it a generous amount of 5 compost mix.   Our local bees and butterflies did their job and the above is the result.  I have never successfully raised an eggplant, so I have no idea if this is normal for October.

Also, I'm posting a picture of my asparagus experiment.  I got 12 two year crowns for 2 bucks from Lowe's when they were clearing them out (Mary Washington).  I probably should have gone with a larger male only hybrid... but all of this was an after thought.




The above box has eight of the twelve in it.  I'd say that right now they are about four/five feet high.  I also gave these guys a 5 compost meal.   I think they might be good enough to get through winter, but I can also easily tarp them with this set up.

If anyone has any thoughts on the care of these plants, please feel free to holler.

I don't see any flea beetle damage on that eggplant.  They look beautiful.  We got 4 inches of rain last night and today.  We really needed a good soaking rain but that was a little excessive.  But with the MM it quickly drained out of the boxes and left them pleasantly watered.

I started six eggplants but only planted four. They took a long time to get established and early on we got one tasty eggplant. Then I really thought it was a bust. Late in the summer they start producing and now I am giving them away. We have only found so many ways to  cook them.
 We planted the Rosito variety, which one did you plant?
 Craig

Eggplants can be a pleasant surprise late in the season. Last year was a bust. This year they are still producing. Black beauty and Japanese Millionaire. The nice thing is that they are self pollinating, though a tap or two doesn't hurt!

yolos wrote:

Windmere wrote:Here in the Middle South, at least in Fayetteville, we got a much welcomed drenching.  I went to check on my plants just now and the remaining ones look pretty good.  I thought I'd show you my eggplant.



I was going to clear it out but it suddenly started to make blossoms.  I subsequently gave it a generous amount of 5 compost mix.   Our local bees and butterflies did their job and the above is the result.  I have never successfully raised an eggplant, so I have no idea if this is normal for October.

Also, I'm posting a picture of my asparagus experiment.  I got 12 two year crowns for 2 bucks from Lowe's when they were clearing them out (Mary Washington).  I probably should have gone with a larger male only hybrid... but all of this was an after thought.




The above box has eight of the twelve in it.  I'd say that right now they are about four/five feet high.  I also gave these guys a 5 compost meal.   I think they might be good enough to get through winter, but I can also easily tarp them with this set up.

If anyone has any thoughts on the care of these plants, please feel free to holler.

I don't see any flea beetle damage on that eggplant.  They look beautiful.  We got 4 inches of rain last night and today.  We really needed a good soaking rain but that was a little excessive.  But with the MM it quickly drained out of the boxes and left them pleasantly watered.

Yolos, it's interesting that you bring up flea beetles.  There were actually some old leaves that were pretty lacy.  They turned yellow and eventually completely dried.  My daughter brushed off the dead leaves just a few days ago.  The new leaves are very thick and strong (and velvety).  I did apply a diluted water/soap mix a couple times.  There is still an occasional beetle, but I can manage them ok.  The low branches of the plant are pretty bare...  there was a stage when those beetles were pretty unrelenting.

Glad to hear you got some good rain too.  I was thrilled.  Yep, all of my beds drained well too.   I'm hoping to plant some cold hearty lettuce tomorrow... the soil will be perfect for those seeds.

Sanderson, I did not know eggplants were self pollinators.  Ah well, I suppose the winged pollinators didn't hurt.  The bumble bees are especially fond of this plant's flowers.

TCgardening wrote:I started six eggplants but only planted four. They took a long time to get established and early on we got one tasty eggplant. Then I really thought it was a bust. Late in the summer they start producing and now I am giving them away. We have only found so many ways to  cook them.
 We planted the Rosito variety, which one did you plant?
 Craig

Hi Craig.  Glad to hear you had some good results!  So far all we've made with them is eggplant parmesan and baba ganoush.  This is a Black Beauty.  I will confess that I also planted some Japanese eggplants, but those died shortly after being dicimated by flea beetles.