Heirloom Eggplant

We are closed for the 2010 Season. Thank you for your business. We'll see you next year.

CUSTOM GROWING: Don't see that "must have" variety in our regular offerings?  We're happy to do custom sowings of unlisted varieties, often at no extra charge!  But you must order early enough to allow the plants to reach shipping size.  More Information

EGGPLANT CULTURE

Plants are well established in 2½" square pots that are 3½" deep to provide our customers with larger, healthier plants.

NOTE: Number of days from transplanting until harvest is only for comparison purposes between varieties. Actual number of days may vary with location, climate, weather, and other conditions.

Bangladeshi Long  $3.00 Sold Out
75 days - The cylindrical, purple-grey fruits are very unusual looking with their occasional darker streaks. Collected at a market in Bangladesh.

Black Beauty  $3.00
72-90 days - This is the old American standby, introduced in the 1800's, the only eggplant many have grown, and the only one usually seen in mainstream grocery stores. Purple-black fruit to 6-8 inches long, by 5 " diameter and weigh 1-3 lbs. Plants 18-24" tall may need staking to support the heavy yield of fruits, which are a bit thick-skinned as befits a shipping variety. Will yield in Northern gardens if the season is long enough.

Casper  $3.00
70 days -  Shiny white fruits are 6 inches long by 2-3 inches wide. This variety is early, producing pearly-white fruits with a mild flavor, which holds well even when the fruit are over-mature. No need to peel when picked small. Compact plants yielding well even in cool conditions and later in the season, when early autumn weather has slowed production on other varieties.

Diamond  $3.00 
65-90 days -  A newer Ukrainian variety introduced by Seed Savers Exchange in 1993. Long slender fruits to 7-9", 2-3" across. Purple-black skin with mid-tasting green flesh which is never bitter. Productive plants to 25" tall, spreading a bit wider. Productive even under less-than-ideal growing conditions.

Edirne  $3.00
70-85 days - A spectacular new find. The seed was introduced in 2009 by Baker Creek Seed Company. The original seed was collected in Edirne, Turkey in 1948 and stored in the USDA Germplasm Repository, where it received the prosaic designation "PI 169659." In 2008, it was grown out in Michigan! The grower reported that the tear-drop fruits to 6 inches in length were purple with soft white striping, similar to Listada de Gandia, but earlier and more productive in her northern climate.

Japanese White Egg  $3.00
70-80 days - Small white fruits about the size of a hen's egg, weighing 2-3 ounces. Productive over a long season, and recommended for Northern gardeners who want to try a different-looking eggplant. Rich, full-flavored fruit may become bitter if harvested too late, so pick frequently. Fine in curries or stir-fries, or in your favorite baba ganoush recipe. Attractive enough for the border.

Lao White  $3.00 Sold Out
80-90 days - Very long season Laotian variety producing 2" white fruits maturing to deep yellow. High yielding in its homeland, recommended for Southern U.S. growers. Large plants.

Listada de Gandia  $3.00
75-90 days - Italian type 6-10" fruits are teardrop-shaped, white with purple stripes. Very popular heirloom originating in France in 1850. Recommended for Southern gardeners, but has been grown successfully at least as far north as Connecticut.

Little Fingers   $3.00 
68 days - These fruits grow in clusters of 3 or more.  They can be harvested when no larger than your little finger. But if you choose to let them grow, they will be as good as when harvested small, retaining their mild flavor. Dark purple fruits.

Pandora Striped Rose  $3.00  Sold Out
75-80 days - Cylindrical to tear drop shaped fruit. Lilac-rose color with thin white stripes. A mild tasting and firm eggplant. This plant produces very few to no thorns.

Petch Siam    $3.00 
80 days - This Thai variety is 2 - 3 inches round, with dark and light green stripes.  Very popular in Asian cooking.  Plants are vigorous and produce well.

Pingtung   $3.00
65-90 days - Long slender fruit, to 18" long and 1.25" in diameter. Medium purple in color. Classic eastern-Asian type often seen in Asian markets in the U.S. Vigorous and disease resistant, heavy yielder. Good variety in the North.

Round Mauve   $3.00 Sold Out
80-90 days - These lovely mauve-colored eggplants are best eaten when the size of a tennis ball, when there are little to no seeds in the fruit. A productive eggplant variety from China.

Rosa Bianca   $3.00
80-90 days -  Italian heirloom, light pink-lavender fruits with some white shading. Smooth-textured flesh contains few seeds, never bitter; always mild-flavored and some growers say the taste is reminiscent of mushrooms. Robust plants are productive in our area.

Rosita   $3.00
70 days - Developed in Puerto Rico in the 1940's, Rosita is one of the loveliest eggplants around. Pink-to-lavender skin and white, mild flesh.  The fruit grows to 8 - 9 inches long and 3 - 4 inches in diameter. No need to peel these succulent fruits. Developed from a cross between Black Beauty and Native white Eggplant. Vogorous plants to 30 inches tall seem to be at their best in warmer conditions--probably not for cool-summer areas.

Rotonda Bianca Sfumata di Rosa  $3.00  New
80 days -  Another heirloom from Italy, where eggplants are held in such high regard. Slightly oblong fruits reach 5 inches in length, are white generously blushed in rose-pink to violet, lightly pleated. Productive enough to satisfy market growers, yet its high quality pleases discriminating home gardeners as well, being thin-skinned and flavorful.

Udmalapet   $3.00
51-90 days. Formerly quite rare, but recently more widely grown, as it deserves to be. From a Tamil villiage in India. Fruits are egg-shaped  to 3" long. Maturing to purple with gold or apple-green stripes; very striking and unusual in an eggplant! You would expect long-season maturity in a variety from a subtropical environment, but growers cite the days-to-maturity given here. About 80 days to harvest in our 2007 trial.

Ukrainian Beauty  $3.00  New  Sold Out
75-80 days. Eastern European introduction yielding lage, blocky fruits of dark purple with green overtones, borne on very attractive, multi-branched plants. Unusual and known to do well in cooler conditions than some varieties.