Common Name: Chinese String
Scientific Name: Solanum melongena
Description:Our favorite eggplant is so long and skinny that the Chinese named it after a piece of string! This is the most slender, tender and best-tasting variety we have grown! This marvelous eggplant is so sweet it is even delicious raw in salads, and this buttery, tender East China variety is our top choice for doing just that! Very high-yielding plants produce profusions of 10- to 15-inch long fruit with lavender-violet skin and snowy white flesh. A superior choice for sautéing, grilling, and more! Fire up the wok and make the best pan of Chinese eggplant you will ever taste! Eggplant has an ancient history in China, where it is used for food and medicine. This is a masterpiece of thousands of years of eggplant selection from this amazing land. We grow these almost year-round in our greenhouses and outdoors in the warmer months They are super quick to mature. We cook the new baby fruit whole like green beans, only these are better!
Sprouts in: 10-15 Days
Ideal Temp: 75-95 Degrees F
Seed Depth: 1/4 inch
Plant Spacing: 18" apart
Frost Hardy: No
Min Full Sun: 8-12 hours
Planting Instructions: Start indoors in bright light 8-12 weeks before last frost date. Heat mat helps to warm soil and speed germination. Setting out larger transplants helps to fight pest pressure.
Information source and image: Baker Creek 2024
Information source and image: Baker Creek 2024
Common Name: Nagasaki Long
Scientific Name: Solanum melongena
Description: We love the extra-long fruit of this heirloom eggplant from Nagasaki, Japan, but its shape is just one of its charms. The tender, never-bitter fruit is mild and sweet enough to eat raw! Gardeners will appreciate its impressive tolerance to heat and humidity. Chefs and home cooks will adore its velvety mouth-feel and nutty flavor.
Sprouts in: 10-15 Days
Ideal Temp: 75-95 Degrees F
Seed Depth: 1/4 inch
Plant Spacing: 18" apart
Frost Hardy: No
Min Full Sun: 8-12 hours
Planting Instructions: Start indoors in bright light 8-12 weeks before last frost date. Heat mat helps to warm soil and speed germination. Setting out larger transplants helps to fight pest pressure.
Common Name: Ping Tung
Scientific Name: Solanum melongena
Description: A wonderful Taiwanese eggplant. Purple fruit to 18" long, 2" diameter. One of the best Chinese eggplants. Superbly delicious!
Sprouts in: 10-15 Days
Ideal Temp: 75-95 Degrees F
Seed Depth: 1/4 inch
Plant Spacing: 18" apart
Frost Hardy: No
Min Full Sun: 8-12 hours
Planting Instructions: Start indoors in bright light 8-12 weeks before last frost date. Heat mat helps to warm soil and speed germination. Setting out larger transplants helps to fight pest pressure.
Information source and image: Baker Creek 2024
Common Name: Rosita
Scientific Name: Solanum melongena
Description: Developed in Puerto Rico in the 1940s. Lovely neon, lavender-pink fruit has mild, sweet, white flesh. Skin is tender and not bitter.
Sprouts in: 10-15 Days
Ideal Temp: 75-95 Degrees F
Seed Depth: 1/4 inch
Plant Spacing: 18" apart
Frost Hardy: No
Min Full Sun: 8-12 hours
Planting Instructions: Start indoors in bright light 8-12 weeks before last frost date. Heat mat helps to warm soil and speed germination. Setting out larger transplants helps to fight pest pressure.
Information source and image: Baker Creek 2024