Eggplant

Eggplant is one of my all time favorite vegetables as you can see from the many posts I have done over the years. I have posted about Italian eggplant, but my favorite is Asian Eggplant. It is more tender and has fewer seeds than the Italian variety. It is also easier to peel and cook.

One of the problems growing eggplant is insects. Flea beetles have hammered my eggplant in the past and this year the Japanese beetles have been a challenge. The beetles don't eat the fruit, but the leaves of the plant. They do such extensive damage that the plant doesn't produce any flowers or fruit and eventually dies.

Flea beetles are difficult to control. I have used soap, nematodes and other organic insecticides. None have really controlled the flea beetles, but they have helped a little. With the Japanese beetles, I spent every morning picking them off the eggplant and potato plants. Not an easy job, but it does control the insect population. As you can see from the pictures above, we have a nice crop of Asian eggplant this year.