Once, many years ago, I bought a plant which said it was a perennial eggplant, and suggested that it would be good in a pot on the verandah. It did well and eventually I planted it out, but oh no..the frost got it. The next year it came back bigger and better than ever and grew like the beanstalk, only this time it had prickles three inches long. Obviously they had used a nasty root stock to graft the eggplant to, much as we graft to bush lemon for citrus. It took over the garden and grew eight feet tall and produced no eggplant, so I got rid of it, best not to tell you how. Moral of the story- If it says ‘Pot Variety’ then perhaps it is best to leave it there. Also eggplant frosts.
So then I grew some ordinary seedlings in pots so I could put them on the verandah out of the frost and one of them has done really well, so well in fact that this is its third year of production. It is co-planted with a bay tree which also looked like it had seen its best days but like the phoenix, they have both risen from the ashes yet again. I am waiting for them to die as I want the pot for a tree that is presently suffering in a too small pot. Now this poor little eggplant has a dozen or so eggplant on, although not large ones and I can not bring myself to get rid of it yet again.
Since it has been under the shelter, out of the frost these are nice and early and way ahead of the seedlings I have in the garden. Oh well, we can start on some of my favourite eggplant dishes early, since these are actually ready to pick. I know this because they are glossy and black and if I let them go much longer, the shine will go off them. Slightly immature eggplant (as in the seeds aren’t ready for use) are much better tasting than when you let them fullly ripen.
Garden Path Food 