Plant Library

Other Names:  Long Purple Italian, Fingerling Eggplant

Group/Class:  Heirloom

Description:

A beautiful heirloom, perfect for garden beds and patio containers; stocky and productive plants produce dark purple, cucumber shaped fruit, best harvested at 8-10" long; creamy white, firm and mild flesh is delicious when roasted, grilled, fried or baked

Edible Qualities

Long Purple Eggplant is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces deep purple long eggplants (which are technically 'berries') with white flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The eggplants have a mild taste and a firm texture.

The eggplants are most often used in the following ways:

• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Canning
• Freezing

Planting & Growing

Long Purple Eggplant will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 14 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. Because of its vigorous growth habit, it may require staking or supplemental support. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant is a heavy feeder that requires frequent fertilizing throughout the growing season to perform at its best. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom variety.

Long Purple Eggplant is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.