Pingtung Long Organic Eggplant

Nature & Nurture Seeds

Solanum melongena

$5.49

Pkt(≈25 seeds)
Certified Organic
70 days. Named after the Taiwanese city from where it originated, Pingtung Long is a delicious, easy-to-grow eggplant. Fruits are 12" long, 1 - 2" wide. Glossy deep-purple skin is thin, tender and even a bit sweet. When eggplants are harvested young, you'll appreciate their tender and non-bitter flavor. We think eggplant is underutilized in American kitchens—it's such a versatile food! Asian eggplants like Pingtung Long are an important ingredient in traditional Indian, Malaysian and Thai curries. The spongy texture is great for soaking up flavors—we really like it in sauces with garlic and ginger. This eggplant is superb when grilled whole or sliced lengthwise, then broiled or stir-fried. Pairs well with Thai basil. Preserve fresh eggplant by drying; cooked eggplant can be frozen. Think you don't like eggplant? We find Pingtung Long, cooked well, might sway your preferences.

Eggplants are warm loving plants. Sow seeds indoors around April 1st into good seed starting mix (we recommend Vermont Compost’s Fort Light). Ideal temperature for germination is 80-90° (use heating mat). Days to germination: 10-14. Once leaves appear, grow plants at 72°. Be sure seedlings have adequate light (a windowsill will not do for eggplants) and keep plants from becoming pot-bound because this will permanently stunt plants. If seedlings are getting too big for their pot but the weather is still too cold outside, transplant them into bigger pots. Plant seedlings outside late May into fertile garden soil with lots of compost or decomposed manure. If your soil pH is greater than 7 (which is typical of clay soils in Southeast Michigan) add sulfur to acidify soil. Space plants 1 ½ - 2 ft. apart. If plants begin to flower when plants are less than 1 ft. tall, hand remove early flowers for 2 weeks until plants are bigger. Stake plants if they begin to fall over.