Viewing post #1227315 by Newyorkrita

You are viewing a single post made by Newyorkrita in the thread called Eggplant Reports. This is the Eggplant thread..
Image
Jul 28, 2016 8:11 PM CST
Name: Rita
North Shore, Long Island, NY
Zone 6B
Charter ATP Member Seed Starter Tomato Heads I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Vegetable Grower Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge)
Birds Garden Ideas: Master Level Butterflies Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Roses Photo Contest Winner: 2016
Gymgirl said:

I'm growing Gretels again. It's an Asian hybrid, just enough for me to keep up with. Although, next season I'll add either a Beatrice or try the Black Shine or Park's Whopper mentioned above to get a larger size for meaty recipes.

The Gretels are VERY prolific, growing to 5-6" in only 3-4 days after the bloom. My plants were petering out after all the rain and humidity we've had here in Houston, so, I took a calculated risk. I harvested EVERY fruit off the plants, gave them a good dose of Triple 13, and watered them in well. After about one week, they were full of new blooms and have started cranking out a whole second crop.

The skins on this fruit are tender enough that you don't have to peel them, if they are harvested between 4-6" long. I've learned to eyeball when they're just about at peak. Generally, in that 4-6" length, with some "heft" to the individual fruit. Some get to that length, but are skinny and lightweight. These I leave alone until they get some "heft," and it doesn't seem to affect the taste, although the skin gets a tiny bit chewier.

Gretel has a black counterpart called (you guessed it) HANSEL! I grew them together the first season, and I much prefer the Gretels for my uses. Nothing wrong with Hansel. The characteristics are just a bit different. Hansel fills out more than Gretels at their peak, and the skins are much tougher from the beginning. I don't relish having to peel the Hansels, so, I stick with the Gretels. Although, Hansel would make a fine grilling veggie, if just split down the middle. I generally just cut Gretels into 1" coins for my recipes. She cooks up very quickly!

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Gretel!
Thumb of 2016-07-28/Gymgirl/061f4e Thumb of 2016-07-28/Gymgirl/1e5c7d Thumb of 2016-07-28/Gymgirl/14f5d3 Thumb of 2016-07-28/Gymgirl/637dda

I tip my hat to you.

Observation: The Gretels in my patented Earthboxes (one each, in 3 EBs) have consistently lagged behind in production and, the fruits have remained smaller. The EBs get fed on a regular basis, but, the plants aren't as productive as the ones in the ground...



I really recommend those Parks Whoppers for the larger Italian Size fruit like you might get in the Supermarket.

Anyway, mainly my point is I loved reading your report on your Hansel and Gretel Eggplants. I heartily agree on them both being superb. One year (was it two or three years ago?) I was lucky enough to find plants locally and bought both. Yes, Gretel is the better of the two but that is really being nit picky for me as I loved both. Really was displeased that no one locally carried plants these past few years.

I really would love to grow both again and I might have to resort to buying seed and starting my own plants.

« Return to the thread "Eggplant Reports. This is the Eggplant thread."
« Return to Vegetables and Fruit forum
« Return to the Garden.org homepage

Member Login:

( No account? Join now! )