1102 



EGGPLANT 



EGGPLANT 



1379. Non-pollinated fruit. 



that grows to proper size is edible, and there is no 

 special demand for particular flavors. Eggplants are 

 forced under glass to a limited extent for home use. 

 They require the temperature of a tomato house, and 

 great care must be taken to keep off red-spider and 



mites. In order to insure 

 large fruits, practise arti- 

 ficial pollination. Non- 

 pollinated fruits will grow 

 for a time, but always 

 remain small (Fig. 1379). 

 Soil. Eggplant will 

 grow on almost any land 

 in the South, but it de- 

 velops to greater perfec- 

 tion on a rich, deep, loamy 

 soil free from debris. In 

 the clay districts this is 

 not easily secured, but 

 there are often small fields 

 that are sufficiently dry 

 and yet contain enough 

 sand to make eggplant- 

 growing profitable. No 

 matter whether clay land, 

 loam or sandy land be 

 employed for raising this 

 crop, it will be necesssary 

 to plow deeply and thor- 

 oughly. The land should be drier than that required 

 by cabbage or beets. In fact it will stand a greater 

 drought than the ordinary vegetables. On the other 

 hand, one should not attempt to grow a crop on land 

 that is composed of large particles, such lands as are 

 ordinarily called "thirsty" in the vegetable-growing 

 sections of Florida. 



Fertilizer. On the coastal plains of the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States, barn manure is of doubtful 

 value for fertilizing eggplant. When it is advisable to 

 use this material, it is preferable to compost it and use 

 it in the form of well-rotted stable manure. A cheaper 

 and at the same time preferable way of securing the 

 humus necessary in the loamy sands is to grow legumi- 

 nous plants that are not subject to root-knot. Such 

 plants will give much more humus and at a cheaper 

 price than can be obtained by the use of stable manure. 

 On the loamy sands, the fertilizer should not be applied 

 until after the plants have been set out and have 

 started. A small quantity is then applied by hand or 

 by drill. On very poor land, as much as 200 to 500 

 pounds of a good home-mixed fertilizer should be used. 

 In the course of two to four weeks, the eggplants will 

 have shown the effect of the fertilizer and by this time 

 will be making a considerable growth. A second appli- 

 cation may then be made of as much more, or twice as 

 much as was used the first time. Later in the season, 

 when the plants are beginning to make bloom buds or 

 setting the fruit well, an after-dressing of nitrate of 

 soda could be applied if the plants show need of further 

 fertilizing, using it at the rate of 100 to 300 pounds to 

 the acre. This can be applied very readily by hand or 

 by the use of a fertilizer drill. The hand method is 

 more economical of fertilizer but more costly in apply- 

 ing. On the heavy clay lands less potash will be needed 

 and in those places in which a stiff clay is employed 

 for gardening purposes, the potash may be reduced to 4 

 or 5 per cent, or even eliminated. Ammonia and phos- 

 phoric acid are needed on nearly all the soils. 



Propagating the seedlings. The time required to 

 bring plants into bearing from seeds varies with the 

 condition of the soil and the temperature. During cool 

 weather the plants grow very slowly, but during hot 

 weather they grow rapidly and mature fruit in much 

 less time. Those who wish to have early fruit and are 

 able to use hotbeds or propagating-houses should sow 

 the seed 120 to 150 days before the fruit is wanted. Pre- 



pare the hotbeds as for other seedlings, and sow in rows 

 a few inches apart. When these are beginning to show 

 their leaves or when the seedlings are beginning to look 

 spindly, they should be pricked out and transferred to 

 another bed. In this each plant should be given about 

 a 2-inch square; then they may be forced until the plants 

 cr&wd one another in the bed, when they should be 

 transferred again. When the plants have attained the 

 size of 6 inches, and the atmosphere will permit, they 

 may be set out in the field. A somewhat more laborious, 

 but at the same time more successful plan, is to plant 

 the seedlings in 2-inch flower-pots and then shift to 

 larger ones as often as the plants become pot-bound or 

 crowd one another in the bed. Fig. 1380 represents 

 a plant three-tenths natural size, just taken from a flower- 

 pot and ready to be shifted to a larger one. By shifting 

 until 6-inch pots are reached, the eggplant may be 

 forced along without injury to blooming size or even 

 to a size when fruit is beginning to set, and then set out 

 in the field without injury to the plants or crop. Egg- 

 plant-growers should bear in mind constantly that from 

 the time of sprouting the seeds to the harvesting of the 

 crop, the plants cannot stand a severe shock in their 

 growth without detriment to the crop. When the plant 

 is once started, it should then be forced right along and 

 never allowed to become stunted during its growth. 

 The amount of damage done by neglecting plants 

 before they are set in the field varies with the severity 

 of the shock and the length of time during which the 

 plant undergoes the disadvantageous conditions. If it 

 becomes necessary to harden the plants off before 

 setting them in the field, this should be done gradually. 

 Culture in the field. After the field has been thor- 

 oughly prepared in the way of plowing and fertilizing, 

 which should have been done at least two weeks before 

 the plants were set out, the rows should be laid off 3 to 4 

 feet apart. The plants may be set 2 to 4 feet apart in 

 the row, varying with the varieties to be used and the 

 soil. Tillage should be continued and varied according 

 to the conditions of the weather. In a wet season it is 

 well to cultivate the land as deeply as possible, while in 

 dry weather cultivation should be shallow, simply 

 sufficient to keep the weeds from growing, to keep the 

 soil well aired, and to keep mulching of dry soil on the 

 land. Under ordinary circumstances it does not pay 

 to prune or pinch out the buds, but when the season is 

 short this may be 

 resorted to with 

 some advantage. 

 If it is desirable 

 to have the fruit 

 attain a certain 

 size before frost, 

 one may begin to 

 pinch out the 

 blossoms and new 

 growth about 

 three weeks before 

 its usual occur- 

 rence. This same 

 process will be of 

 advantage when 

 the fruit is to be 

 brought into mar- 

 ket at a certain 

 time. A great 

 many attempts 

 have been made 

 to hold eggplants 

 over the summer, that is to have a spring cropping and 

 then allow the plants to remain in the field, cultivate 

 them up and make a fall crop from the old stalks. 

 Sometimes this process is successful but generally 

 speaking it is a wasteful and expensive method. The old 

 plants that have borne a crop should be discarded and 

 a fresh seed-bed started to bring the plants in at the 



1380. Pot-grown plant ready for setting 

 in the field. 



