Eggplant Colors: A Choice Of Varieties

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Read the previous part: What is good about eggplant and where did it come from

Eggplant varieties

Gone are the days when you and I knew practically only one eggplant variety, Almaz, and because of this we could not think about the "eggplant" topic at all, since it was completely unrealistic to grow this variety and get a harvest from it in the Urals.

Another thing is modern varieties and hybrids, more resistant to diseases and bad weather conditions, more productive and more early maturing.

With their appearance, the gardeners of the Urals had real chances of success. And today on the shelves there are many different colorful bags of eggplant seeds.

Someone will find it promising to choose the earlier ones, someone more resistant to external influences, someone miniature so that they can be placed in a small greenhouse, and someone will stop at the most productive.

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Babies and Giants

Most of the new varieties and hybrids of eggplant are compact plants of medium height. The Quartet and Serial varieties grow only up to 45-60 cm. But there are giant hybrids. These are Behemoth (1.9-2.1 meters), Giselle (1.7-1.9), Lolita (2.7-3.3), Pelican (1.2-1.8), Nutcracker (1, 5-, 8), Ekavi (1,6-, 9). This height must be taken into account when placing eggplants in a greenhouse or in a garden bed, so that vigorous plants do not shade "babies".

And thorns may not be

A valuable quality of eggplant fruits is considered a weak thorniness of the calyx. The varieties Amethyst, Banana, Vikar, Robin Hood, Lilac, Snezhny, Solaris, Frant and F1 hybrids - Behemoth, Giselle, Lolita, Ping Pong, Violet Miracle, Nutcracker are famous for the absence or a small number of thorns.

"Harmful" and not very

Relatively resistant to pathogens of the Quartet, Matrosik, Serial, Violet Miracle hybrid. The series and Giselle tolerate low night temperatures and temperature drops well and therefore are able to form a full-fledged crop in the conditions of the worst Ural summer. Valentina and Solara are excellent at tying fruits with a lack of sunlight and heat and are very resistant to diseases. Robin Hood has a high adaptive capacity and produces fruits in any conditions.

Stored for a

long time The fruits of the Swan variety, Pelican, Ping-Pong, Violet Miracle, Giselle and Ekavi hybrids retain their commercial qualities for a long time. Kiko's fruits also have good keeping quality and transportability.

From early maturing to very late

ripening period - 95-110 days for varieties and hybrids Amethyst, Berinda, Violet Miracle, Nutcracker, Ekavi, Robin Hood. A week later, Banana, Behemoth, Vera, Swan, Sailor, Ping-Pong begin to ripen. A week later - Giselle, Quartet, Lolita, Serial, Lilac. And the latest ripening of fruits, on the 114-120 day, at Vikar, Pelican, Ping-Pong, Solaris, Frant.

Such a different yield The yield is

low for varieties and hybrids Banana, Vera, Swan, Serial. Slightly higher, up to 5 kg / m2, - at the Violet Miracle, Solaris, Lilac, Sailor, Vikar. Even higher (6-10 kg / m2) - at Amethyst, Ping-Pong, Frant, Ekavi.

Harvest champions - hybrids Behemoth (17.3 kg / m2), Berinda (14.8), Giselle (17.6), Quartet (13.0), Lolita (14.7), Robin Hood (12.0), Nutcracker (19.5).

The most delicious

Taste qualities are especially famous for Behemoth, Berinda, Lolita, Ekavi. The fruits of the Ping-Pong hybrid are distinguished by a very interesting spicy, for an amateur, taste. Very tender pulp of Swan and Pelican fruits. Very tasty fruits from Matrosik and Lilac Mist.

The most exotic

Well, if you really want to plant eggplant unusual in color or in the shape of the fruit, then pay attention to the varieties and hybrids below.

Ping-Pong F1

This is an early maturing (110-115 days from germination to fruiting) fruitful hybrid. A plant with a lot of flowers and fruits looks very decorative. Fruits are spherical, similar to Easter eggs, 5-6 cm long, 4-5 cm in diameter, white color, matte surface. The pulp is greenish-white, medium density, with a spicy taste. But it should be borne in mind that the hybrid has more decorative than grocery purpose, because the fruits have a very hard skin and a large number of seeds.

Swan

This is a mid-season variety (from mass seedlings to technical ripeness of 100-110 days). Fruits are cylindrical, 18-22 cm long, 5-7 cm in diameter and weighing 200-250 g. The color of the fruit is white in technical ripeness, and yellow in biological ripeness. The pulp is snow-white, without bitterness and very tender. The variety is distinguished by its original taste, both fresh and canned.

Matrosik

This is the only eggplant variety with striped fruits. Fruits are elongated-cylindrical, up to 25 cm, dark purple in color with lilac stripes, shiny, smooth. The pulp is firm, greenish-white, without bitterness. The taste is excellent. The variety is early maturing, high-yielding. The plant is tall, over 90 cm, compact, but very powerful.

Pelican F1

This is an early ripe (115-120 days from germination to technical ripeness) hybrid with saber-shaped milky-white opaque small fruits 180-200 g and up to 14 cm in length. The flesh of the fruit is white, unusually tender and absolutely without bitterness. The plants themselves are very decorative - both when they are covered with large bright violet flowers, and when unusual milky-white fruits begin to ripen.

Marukos F1

Mid- early hybrid. Differs in very beautiful fruits 20 cm long, dark purple in color, oval-drop-shaped with white stripes. The pulp is firm, white, without bitterness and practically without seeds. Compared to dark-fruited varieties, it has a more delicate taste. The plant is not tall, 65-85 cm. It sets fruit well only when the flowers are in direct sunlight.

Snezhniy

This is a new magnificent early maturing eggplant variety. The plant is tall and compact. The fruits are large, cylindrical, snow-white, weighing 200-300 g and extremely attractive. The pulp is tender, white, completely without bitterness. The yield is consistently high.

Kiko F1

This is the largest of the eggplants - its dark purple fruits can be up to 20 cm long and weigh from 0.5 to 2 kg! Refers to medium-sized (height up to 80 cm) and mid-early hybrids. The fruits are distinguished by good keeping quality and transportability.

Lilac Mist

The highlight of the Lilac Mist is the delicate light lilac color of the fruits, which have a cylindrical shape and reach a length of 15-18 cm with a mass of 200 g. The pulp is snow-white, without bitterness. The taste is excellent. The variety is early ripe, compact bush, 50-70 cm high.

Nutcracker F1

This is a new, early maturing, weakly spiny hybrid, which is also one of the earliest ripening hybrids - it takes only 45 days from planting seedlings to harvest. It has a high yield and gives fruits weighing 200-250 g and 12-14 cm long. If you choose this hybrid, you can avoid many of the little troubles that arise when caring for eggplants and harvesting due to the presence of thorns on the plants - they are on this variety is quite a bit. But the main highlight is its luxurious fruits, which resemble real purple barrels in shape. Its dense fruits are used for food in technical ripeness, when the seeds are still light (about 30-40 days after setting). By the time they fully ripen, bitterness has already accumulated in them, and the eggplants lose all the tenderness of taste.

Robin Hood

A very early variety, giving pear-shaped fruits, lilac, weighing 200-300 g, suitable for pickling and pickling. Sprawling bush from 70 to 100 cm. The plant has high adaptive abilities and forms fruit in any conditions.

Read the next part: Growing eggplant seedlings →