A star fruit-vegetable of Mediterranean dishes, the aubergine can be grown anywhere in France as long as it gets all the sun it needs. Find out how to grow and when to harvest this bright fruit-vegetable with its astonishing hues and shapes from the Solanaceae family that will delight your eyes as much as your taste buds.
Low in calories, eggplant is a source of fiber and vitamin B. In peak season, it offers us its mushroom-like flavors in a gratin, pan-fried or stuffed.
How to grow eggplant?
Eggplant thrives in rich, fresh and deep soil in full sun. It needs an ambient temperature of at least 25 °C (12 °C at night) to grow and regular but moderate watering. Sown under cover from February, it can be transplanted at the end of May for a harvest from July to October depending on the mildness of the climate. Its blue-mauve or purple flowers appear from June to September.
The fruits present from July can be round or elongated, their color changing from white to black through green, red and purple. Generally uniform, eggplants can, however, have streaks. Sensitive to diseases such as mildew or powdery mildew and to parasites such as aphids and whiteflies , eggplant requires the implementation of natural preventive and curative treatments such as horsetail decoction and reasoned watering against mildew.
What are the best months to eat fresh eggplant?
The best season to enjoy eggplant is the harvest season, from July to October . It then offers its unique taste and its nutritional qualities are optimal. Despite popular belief, eggplant is not grown in winter.
If you eat eggplant in January, it simply means that it is a vegetable-fruit imported from a hot country. It is therefore of no interest: respecting the environment involves eating seasonal vegetables and fruits.
How do you know if an eggplant is ripe and ready to harvest?
To harvest eggplant at the right time, simply press it with your thumb . If the surface is hard, you still need to wait. If it is soft, it is the right time to harvest. On the other hand, if you notice that the flesh is soft, this suggests rotting. Generally, allow 60 to 80 days after planting for harvesting.
How to store freshly harvested eggplants?
An eggplant plant produces, on average, 6 to 8 fruit vegetables depending on the variety. Raw, eggplants only keep for a few days in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator , in a perforated bag. They can also be frozen: cut them into cubes before blanching them in boiling salted water and then placing them in freezer bags.
Eggplants can also be dried to be preserved for several months. Sterilization in a jar offers the advantage of being able to preserve them for 12 to 18 months.
What are the signs of a good quality eggplant in the store?
If you buy your vegetables in stores, be sure to select eggplants that do not have any spots or bruises . The skin should be smooth and shiny and of sufficient size. The thumb test also applies to these commercial eggplants.
Can eggplants be grown outside of their natural season?
If it is not possible to grow eggplant in winter, you can advance its development by a few weeks and prolong it just as much by sowing in a warm place and growing in a greenhouse. To do this, sow in a container in a heated room of the house from January, then transplant into pots as soon as the first leaves appear. Plant in a greenhouse after the frosts in cold regions and from April in regions with a mild climate.
Growing in a greenhouse provides the eggplant with the heat it needs and extends the season: the plants are stronger and the production more abundant.
