Crop
Source
Space
Family
Gardenshare Crop Plan
Eggplant
Jessica Thurston
By
Fedco Seeds
Swallow, Applegreen
Varieties
56’ of 36” wide bed
25 each variety
# Plants
Solanaceae (with Peppers, Tomatoes and Potatoes) Beds
Year
Cost
Rotation
2005
$1.20 and $0.80
after
Notes on Varieties: Applegreen eggplants are Granny Smith-green, have EXCELLENT flavor, yield well in
northern climates, are open-polinated, and mature in 70 days from transplanting. Swallow is a long, narrow Asian
type, purple black color, does well in short seasons, not bitter, an F1 hybrid, and matures 51 days from transplant.
These varieties were chosen because they should set fruit even if we have a cool summer, and mature quickly.
Sowing: Start 36 seeds of each variety. Start Applegreen seeds in a greenhouse at approximately April 7th. Swallow
seeds should be started at approximately April 28th. Record the date and label different varieties. Sow seeds 1/4"
deep, in 806's, or 4" pots and keep at 75-90 degrees until germinated. Do not let growing temperature drop below 65
degrees, or let plants wilt significantly as it may reduce yield for the entire year. If plants are started in 806's,
transplant to 4" pots after 3 weeks of growing in the greenhouse.
Transplanting: Quantity: Transplant 25 plants of each variety. Spacing: Transplant into a 36" wide bed, creating two
staggered rows of plants that are 9" from the edge of the bed, with 24" between plants in each row. Plants should be
transplanted after danger of frost is past, when the soil is about 68 degrees. Eggplants do not like cold weather. Soil
temp should be warm enough by the first week of June. Prepare beds with an inch of compost, or use in rotation after
a legume cover-crop. Eggplants like nutrients!
Care: Applegreens do not have to be staked. I am not sure about Swallow. Plants are shallow rooted, so pull weeds
rather than cultivate, or use mulch. Plants can be undersown with an annual clover around July 4th to control weeds
and boost soil fertility. Earlier would be bad as the clover would compete with the eggplants too much. Plants can be
sidedressed with compost when fruit begins to set or when undersowing clover.
Pests: Watch out for Colorado Potato beetles, flea beetles, cutworms and aphids. Use beds that have not been used for
the solanaceae family for 2-3 years to avoid verticillium wilt.
Harvest: Plants should begin to yield in mid August. Applegreens should be harvested at about 6" long, and Swallow
at about 7" long. The skin should be glossy and thin. Use a sharp knife or pruning shears. Plants should be pulled
when production stops, (except for any being grown for seed) and a fall crop or a fall cover crop put in.
Yield: I was unable to find yield expectations for either variety, and so am blindly guessing how many we should
plant. We will keep records and base next year's number of plants on how much of this harvest we utilize. Poor
fruiting is usually a result of cold weather, poor fertility, drought, or damaged seedlings.
Season Extension: Many growers encourage eggplant to develop and ripen sooner by using black plastic mulch,
which warms the soil. (Eggplant likes it hot!) Earlier summer production is not as important to us, and I personally
like to avoid disposable plastics. Our varieties were chosen for chilly-tolerance, so we shouldn’t need plastic.
Production slows significantly when temperatures drop below 60 degrees, which in general makes eggplant a poor
candidate for fall season extension. Plants will yield longer when grown in a greenhouse that may otherwise go
unused in the summer/early fall.
Seed saving: Eggplant seed will store approximately 5 years in a dry, cool location. Eggplants are mostly selfpollinating, and generally produce new plants like the plant it is collected from. Because some out-crossing does
occur, (flower fertilized by a different flower), our varieties may mix and produce perhaps good, or perhaps bad new
combinations. To avoid this we will plant our varieties as far apart as possible. Applegreens are open-pollinated, and
Swallow is a hybrid. This makes Applegreen an automatic well-behaved seed saver. Swallow may or may not produce
stable seed, depending on the degree of outcrossing that occurs. Let’s save the seed and find out!
Sources: The New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman. The New Seed Starters Handbook, Nancy Bubel. Organic
Garden Vegetables, George Van Patten. Sustainable Vegetable Production from Start-Up to Market, Vernon
Grubinger.