Get an edge on starting eggplants

When it’s time to set the plants out in the garden, I put them in well-dug beds with good drainage. In hot climates, young plants need to be watered twice a week, to a depth of 12 inches.

Eggplants do not like standing water, so mature plants should be watered deeply and infrequently. But do not allow the leaves to wilt during the day. If water is adequate and wilting still occurs, I check for root-knot nematode damage by digging into a section of side roots and looking for the nematode knots in the roots. The best defense against root-knot nematode damage is a healthy root system.

Eggplants are very susceptible to flea beetles, which make pinholes in the leaves and can cause considerable damage. The plants can be covered with row covers early in the season to help prevent the first wave of flea beetles. Some very preliminary research shows that applying predatory nematodes can significantly decrease the number of flea beetle larvae and subsequent damage.

Most healthy plants, however, will recover from the leaf damage. I feed my eggplants once or twice during the growing season with a light application of fish emulsion, manure tea, or compost tea. This helps to supply potassium, which the plants need to keep producing fruit.

As the plants grow and bear, they will need support. I use tomato cages or wire loops to give my eggplants a shoulder to lean on. Asian varieties will grow to about 18 inches tall, and the larger-fruited plants usually grow 24 to 36 inches tall.

If you’ve treated the crop well, you should have a bountiful harvest. I pick eggplants when they are bright and shiny. Dull-skinned fruits have begun to form mature seeds and tough skin. In very warm climates, eggplants may not reach full size before losing their shine. I don’t hesitate to harvest them when they are small so I can enjoy firm, mild, seedless flesh.

Match the eggplant to the recipe

I always grow enough, and enough variety, that I have the eggplants I need for just the dish I want to eat. Caponata, a bold Italian combination of eggplant, tomatoes, onion, capers, olive oil, and vinegar, looks much more vibrant with a white-skinned eggplant. ‘Casper’, ‘White Beauty’, ‘White Sword’, or any of the other white eggplants work well. Using purple-skinned eggplants can create a muddy effect.

Baba ghanoush, a grilled eggplant purée with sesame paste and garlic, and hunkar begendi, a roasted eggplant purée with kasseri cheese, also benefit from using white-skinned eggplant. The light color makes the purée more appealing and better shows off any garnishes.

Grilled eggplant steaks are best with firm-fleshed fruits 4 to 6 inches in diameter. They hold up on the grill and look substantial on the plate. These larger varieties are also best for papoutsakia, a classic Greek stuffed and baked eggplant dish. Musakka, baked eggplant with tomato, béchamel, and cheese, may be made with many sizes of eggplant, although the large round slices are easier to work with and hold a nice shape. ‘New York Improved’, ‘Harris Special High Bush’, ‘Pompano Pride’, ‘Fort Myers Market’, and ‘Listada de Gandia’ are excellent choices when large eggplants are needed. They have the added advantage of performing well in most areas of the United States.

For marinated eggplant you want to preserve, the eggplant must be sliced to fit conveniently in a jar. The job is made much easier if the eggplant is the same diameter as a pint-size canning jar. The slices will stack easily and fit neatly in the jar, which will make retrieving unbroken pieces much easier. Any variety that fits inside a wide-mouth, pint-size canning jar works well. My favorite is ‘Rosita’, not only for size but also for its beautiful lavender-pink color and mild flavor. ‘Diamant’, an early purple variety from Russia, is an excellent choice in cooler climates.

The long, skinny Asian eggplants are perfect for stir-frying. Neat, round, 1- to 2-inch-diameter slices make preparation and cooking easy. No fancy knife work is necessary, and the pieces can easily be cut to a uniform size for fast and even cooking. The pieces are also a perfect size to pick up with chopsticks.

‘Taiwan Pingtung Long’, ‘Slim Jim’, ‘Thai Green’, and ‘Waimanalo Long’ are all great stir-fry varieties that are well adapted to most regions of the United States. Long Asian eggplants are also perfect for drying. The thinly sliced rounds dry quickly and are very uniform. I grind dry rounds in a coffee grinder that I use only for herbs and then store the powder in a clean glass jar. I like to use it as a thickener or subtle flavoring for purées, stocks, and stews.