On Their Way

There are a few plants in the garden that are very close to producing some harvests.  Both eggplants are loaded with blossoms. 

I found this little guy yesterday on the Fairytale eggplant.  It will only be a few days now!

There are also some teeny tiny eggplants on their way.

Itty bitty beans are set on the bushes.

One or two look like they are ready to pick.

Baby Eggplant!

I finally have a baby eggplant growing!  It has taken my eggplant forever to get going this year.  My first plant never died but it also didn't grow so a month after planting it I had to change it out.  This one has been growing but a bit slower or maybe it just feels that way because it got a late start being planted out a month after the first.  Last year I only had one plant and it went gang busters, we couldn't keep up with it.  This year I am wishing I had planted more plants, but I was afraid I would have too much.  At least they are coming now!

Another one on the way also!

Swap Out

Today I swapped out the eggplant on the left for the eggplant on the right.  I planted the first seedling almost a month ago.  And it has pretty much looked the same since then.  At first I didn't think anything of the stunted growth until the tomatoes took off and the eggplant didn't.  I went to my local greenhouse and saw that their eggplants in their tiny pots were faring much better than mine planted in a raised bed so I brought one home.  Hopefully it has better luck than the first.

2011 Brasiccas, Herbs, Pepper and Eggplant Reviews

Premium Crop Broccoli - It is going to be awhile before I grow broccoli again.  These were extremely slow to grow.  Out of 6 plants I ended up with one head before I had to pull them all out because they were infested with cabbage moth caterpillars and I needed the space for other plants.

Toscano Kale - I was really pleased with the growth, size and flavor of the Kale.  Next year I just need to put row cover over them so that I can enjoy them before the cabbage moth caterpillars do too.

Bouquet Dill - This was my first experience growing dill.  It took longer than I anticipated for it to germinate and get growing but once it did they were quite large, hardy and the flavor was wonderful.

Barbecue Rosemary - I won't start picking my rosemary until it has a good amount of growth going on, so I felt like I was waiting forever before I could start picking and still be left with a healthy plant.  But by the end of the season my rosemary was huge.  The flavor was wonderful but I felt the leaves were more tender to the cold than other varieties I have grown.

Red Beauty Red Pepper - I gave the pepper the sunniest, warmest spot in the entire garden.  I ended up with one green pepper by the end of the season.  I don't think I get enough sun to grow really great peppers.  I was thinking I might have better success next year trying them in a pot or I might give up all together on peppers.

Classic Eggplant - This plant was the workhorse of the garden this year.  We were supplied with an abundance of deep purple, glossy fruit.  I was absolutely thrilled with the harvest and quality of this plant.

In The Garden

Everything looks like a big green mass so you might not be able to tell but the tomatoes have gotten really tall.  When I put the cages and stakes in I knew based on past experience it was necessary but it did seem almost ridiculous at the time.

This one is a good foot taller than the stake and is most likely about 8-9 feet tall.

My cucumber has seen it's final days.  I think bacterial wilt got the best of it.

The eggplant is basically a bush. It is hard to tell but it is bigger than the tomato plant to the right, it is about 4 feet tall and 3 feet across.  It is this year's garden workhorse.

There are always a couple of fruit ready to pick and lots of little ones on the way.

Eggplant

I have always grown "traditional" eggplant.  When I say always I mean just for the two years I have been growing them.  I don't know why I was resistant to trying different types, but I was.  Last week my Dad gave me some of the Japanese varieties from his garden to take home.  I have heard that they are wonderful just sauteed and have no bitterness.

Last year I struggled cooking traditional eggplant because unless I covered it in lots of sauce and cheese it tasted bitter, most likely I was letting them get too big.  This year I have been picking them smaller and they have been much tastier.  So to try out these new varieties I sauteed them with a little bit of olive oil and just a pinch of salt.  I cautiously took my first bite preparing for bitterness and they were delicious with no hint of bitterness.  I am thinking I might just have to grow one of these different varieties next year. 

Baby Veg

Here are the small or "baby" Eggplant and Cucumber that have taken off and are growing in the garden.  For awhile there I wasn't sure if we were going to get any pickling cucumbers at all.

Garden Blossoms

 

The eggplant has been blossoming for about a week and we are hoping to have some soon.

 

 This is my first time growing borage.  It seemed to have taken a little while but they are now beginning to blossom!

Baby Eggplant

We have had blossoms on our eggplant plant for awhile but we finally have eggplants growing.  I am very excited because I have never grown eggplants before!