Eggplant - Black Beauty

The Eggplant Black Beauty, 'Solanum melongena', is a very attractive plant with 1 to 3 pound, purple/black fruit that keeps well and has an excellent flavor. Eggplant is a very international vegetable. The unique and tasty dishes cooked in Japan, China, Italy, Russia, and other countries make eggplant a useful and tasty vegetable for your garden. Try Black Beauty Eggplant dipped in flour and sauteed in olive oil (Italy), stir-fry with bean sprouts, peppers, and tomatoes (China), or roasted and combined with olive oil, chopped onions and tomatoes (Russian relish). Plant in the spring, 3 to 4 weeks after the last average frost date. Ground temperature needs to very warm for seed to germinate. If nighttime temperatures drop below 60 degrees, the fruit will not set. Eggplant prefers rich, deep, loose soils with large amounts of organic material. Provide 1 inch of water a week if it does not rain.