Eggplant 2024 Started

[karstopography]

I love eggplant but have terrible luck growing it in Wisconsin. First, I have to do battle with flea beetles. They will practically destroy my plants overnight. Then I have to figure out what makes the darned things grow and produce more than one eggplant. I have stopped planting them all together and just purchased them from the farmers market.
Any tips?

I’ve been side dressing every 3-4 weeks a mix of Calcium Nitrate granules, Cottonseed meal, and Langbeinite. I think my soil was already good on phosphorus. I did amend with cotton burr compost prior to planting. Two plants are in the ground, six are in raised beds. No real difference between the two. Soil is organic matter amended clay and silt.

I set out the transplants at the start of March or a little after in the case of the Black Beauty, so eggplant can handle some cooler weather within reason. March has some cool nights here.

They do seem to respond to the side dressing and I think some nitrogen boosts gets them to send out new growth. I’ve fed them a little more aggressively this year and they definitely bloom more and set more fruit. The feeding hasn’t been too different than the tomatoes.

Spacing is 30” to 36” between plants. Grown in full sun/ filtered light mix. Flea beetles have a short appearance window here, but seem to disappear as the summer progresses. I don’t spray much on the eggplant except if there are any caterpillars then spinosad.

[pepperhead212]

@bboomer I have found Surround very effective against flea beetles on eggplants, starting early in growing them, spraying as much as possible on the undersides of the leaves. One good thing about this is that it doesn't wash off easily, except with a heavy rain, and even then, the undersides don't wash of easily, but it wipes off the fruits easily. Same with cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash, where it is a good repellent, though it is not at all poisonous. I usually use it in combination with potassium bicarbonate, as a fungicide, and the two can sit in the sprayer together until the next application, with no problems.

Another thing that destroyed my eggplants overnight, was some beetles that started on some potato plants - the only time I ever grew them, as a result of this. This was before I knew about the Surround. The potatoes had so many leaves, it didn't even seem to bother them! But the eggplants were early in their growth, and several were destroyed.

[bboomer]

I love eggplant but have terrible luck growing it in Wisconsin. First, I have to do battle with flea beetles. They will practically destroy my plants overnight. Then I have to figure out what makes the darned things grow and produce more than one eggplant. I have stopped planting them all together and just purchased them from the farmers market.
Any tips?

I’ve been side dressing every 3-4 weeks a mix of Calcium Nitrate granules, Cottonseed meal, and Langbeinite. I think my soil was already good on phosphorus. I did amend with cotton burr compost prior to planting. Two plants are in the ground, six are in raised beds. No real difference between the two. Soil is organic matter amended clay and silt.

I set out the transplants at the start of March or a little after in the case of the Black Beauty, so eggplant can handle some cooler weather within reason. March has some cool nights here.

They do seem to respond to the side dressing and I think some nitrogen boosts gets them to send out new growth. I’ve fed them a little more aggressively this year and they definitely bloom more and set more fruit. The feeding hasn’t been too different than the tomatoes.

Spacing is 30” to 36” between plants. Grown in full sun/ filtered light mix. Flea beetles have a short appearance window here, but seem to disappear as the summer progresses. I don’t spray much on the eggplant except if there are any caterpillars then spinosad.

Awesome! But you live in a great zone for growing almost anything

[karstopography]

I love eggplant but have terrible luck growing it in Wisconsin. First, I have to do battle with flea beetles. They will practically destroy my plants overnight. Then I have to figure out what makes the darned things grow and produce more than one eggplant. I have stopped planting them all together and just purchased them from the farmers market.
Any tips?

I’ve been side dressing every 3-4 weeks a mix of Calcium Nitrate granules, Cottonseed meal, and Langbeinite. I think my soil was already good on phosphorus. I did amend with cotton burr compost prior to planting. Two plants are in the ground, six are in raised beds. No real difference between the two. Soil is organic matter amended clay and silt.

I set out the transplants at the start of March or a little after in the case of the Black Beauty, so eggplant can handle some cooler weather within reason. March has some cool nights here.

They do seem to respond to the side dressing and I think some nitrogen boosts gets them to send out new growth. I’ve fed them a little more aggressively this year and they definitely bloom more and set more fruit. The feeding hasn’t been too different than the tomatoes.

Spacing is 30” to 36” between plants. Grown in full sun/ filtered light mix. Flea beetles have a short appearance window here, but seem to disappear as the summer progresses. I don’t spray much on the eggplant except if there are any caterpillars then spinosad.

Awesome! But you live in a great zone for growing almost anything

Eggplant is no doubt a lover of hot weather and we have plenty of that here. Hope for a hot summer there.

[Gardadore]

I always had a problem growing eggplant in the ground here in NE Pa. I now use Earthboxes and get very good results. To deal with flea beetles and the bean Beetles I put caging around the box 3- 4 ft high around 3 sides and 24” across the front. Use T posts to give stability. Wrap mosquito netting around the three sides and the front attaching with clothes pins or rust free clips (purchased on Amazon). Add a fourth piece of netting to run from the back across the top and attach to the 24 “ front piece again using clothes pins or clips. This construction stays permanently even through the winter and has severely cut down on the beetles.
Since preparing the boxes requires up to three cups of granular fertilizer and 1 of Dolomitic limestone I don’t have to feed any more. The water is in the bottom watered through a tube. I have had these for years and continue to get great results. Worth the investment for my results.
Happiest eggplants for this area seem to be Annina, Galine, Millionaire, Ping Tung Long, Matrosyk, a Turkish variety and Casper. I have grown Kamo, Long Green, and Rosa Bianca (fewest eggplants but beautiful). New this year is Rosita so will see how that goes.
We love fried eggplant, Baba Ganoush, Eggplant Lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan. For the Lasagna I include the noodles for two layers (bottom and middle but use the eggplant in the other two layers. Often freeze leftover squares for future use.
We really love our eggplant and find this has been an ideal solution. I use 7-8 regular EB’s for eggplants, 2 plants per box. You can also get square EB’s for just one plant.