Impressive! I can’t wrangle heirloom cherries anymore, but I’m curious; Do you stake or prune them? What are some of the ways you use them?
I’ve heard great things about Mr. Stripey, and of course the Brandywines, but just too much plant for the yield where I am. Best wishes!
I use 6-foot T-stakes in my garden for tomatoes. I do some combo of a Florida weave, and also stringing garden twine between the tops of the stakes and then tying the growing plants up to the twine. I don’t prune them.
(The first pandemic summer, I grew all my tomatoes in containers, and spent the whole season tying them to various parts of the deck to support them. It was comical.)
The black cherry tomatoes I eat raw, frequently straight off the plant. They are sweet and complex. I do give some away, of course.
The other heirlooms I also eat raw, plus I preserve them:
And I give some away, too.
So they are, in fact, a very similar but different species from the S. aethiopicum. I’ve seen the seeds for sale in a Shumway’s catalog.
I guess, although the common names the linked article lists seems inconsistant with others I’ve found.
It seems like the catalog I bought my seeds from isn’t aware! They have them listed as Solanum melongena. In looking at various pictures online, some seem much more deeply ribbed than mine are growing, but I couldn’t figure out if that was associated with one vs the other. Oh well; interesting nonetheless.
Yes! Common names are often mixed up or vague. "Bluebells"is an example; there are many plants called Bluebells, but there are many, unrelated species.
I’ve not seen a legitimate Solanum melongena that is orange. Many catalogs call the Ethiopian or Turkish Orange S. melongena, but that species is green, white, striped and various shades of purple or lavender.
Supposedly, Pumpkin on a Stick originated in Thailand. Here’s a good article on it. That species is Solanum integrifolium, a spiny plant with typically pleated, flattened fruits.
I’ve grown the Turkish Orange, Solanum aethiopicum, and it lacked the strong ribbing, was a bit smaller and rounder. S. integrifolium, makes larger fruits that can reach 5 inches across.
Both fruits are eaten before ripe (green) for best flavor. I believe Wikipedia has some mixups, lumping Pumpkin on a Stick with The African/Turkish S. aethiopicum. E.G.: Wikipedia states " The leaves of Solanum aethiopicum are eaten as a leaf vegetable and are actually more nutritious than the fruit." However, they include Pumpkin on a Stick in this species; unlikely as P.O.A.S, is very thorny, including the leaves.
The bottom line is that because these two “eggplants” originate from different countries, which are very far apart, there are two, orange-fruited eggplant species (at least). This is one of the few times a common name (bah humbug) may guide you when you buy seeds, The seed vendors are usually so hopelessly mixed up with the species, the description of what you do with the plant/fruit can guide you.
I’m not fond of either as a food plant. If a fight against flea beetles is going to happen, as it does with any eggplant, I prefer Fairy Tales, Thai Long Green Elephant Tusk, or some of the other long Asian types. For some reason, despite Italian grandparents, the Italian varieties cause… "gastric distress’ in some of their grandchildren, including me. I tried the salting, different stages of fruit ripeness, remove the skin, to no avail. The large fruited ones are lovely, but…nevermore!
Wow! I’m starting to believe you may know everything! 
I saw an article mentioning thorns; none on mine so far. So maybe spines and pleats are clues. Interesting.
You’re too kind! Thanks!
The world of plants is endless and changing, what anyone can know is but a tiny fraction of a pretty amazing world, like all of nature. For anything learned, there are at least two questions more, things not known. If one is a nutty plant geek, these questions can pester you for decades, like a terrible itch!
For example: I’d like to know is where I can identify, perhaps find/get a plant used in parts of the Caribbean in Callaloo, which has many recipes and leaves used. The Amaranth Callaloo is fairly easy to get, but in Grenada, I had very tasty soups/stews made from a type of Xanthosoma (sagittifolium?) or Taro, both tropical root crops and in the Jack-in-the-Pulpit family, the Aroids/Araceae. I wish I had asked the restaurants to guide me to the grower to learn which plant was being used and how to cook it safely. It was not an Amaranth.
Aroids are tricky business and one needs to make sure the correct variety is cooked properly. Many aroids have microscopic crystals of oxalates which is like biting into a hornets nest! A painful price for a failed recipe.
To add to the confusion (more unknowns), there’s a Pokeweed relative, a Phytolacca which is also used in Callaloo dishes. So, if any gardeners in Grenada can solve this riddle as to what they use, I’d be thankful because it’s been a question for me since 1993!
That’s the type I grew, but your plants look way better!
Anyone else’s garden seeing an aphid explosion this year? I’ve always had some, and certain plants of course attracted more than others, but I feel like I’ve been popping aphids every day even after multiple sprayings of insecticidal soap. Not really much new plants this year - my usual shishito peppers, green onions, tomatoes, cukes and lemongrass and the same young citrus plants now back outside. I have peas too, but those don’t have aphid problems. It has been awfully dry in our region so far after several rainy and wet spring/summers the last few years. I wonder if this contributes to it. I finally saw one ladybug yesterday morning - a single one! But it flew off after the morning. I hope it got some good eats before it left.
We are having a sawfly explosion up here.
Flea beetles were bad 2 weeks ago.
The floating covers really help.
I used tomato cages surrounded with plastic chicken wire and topped with floating cover fabric to protect a Saskatoon berry, basil and young cherry tree that had been attacked by critters.
The pepper plant got hit today. Prior to that, the cilantro and the broccoli rabe. I’ve given up on insecticidal soap, which seems to just gently invite the aphids to move on. And switched to Sevin, which kills them.
Not lately. Maybe in March or April, but not obviously more than usual. Maybe more whitefly than I was used to.
Turkish orange eggplant update! I think one is starting to change colors. It’s about the size of a pool ball.
The large green stage, just starting to turn color, is when the Turkish Orange is at its best. Fully orange, I recall the seeds and skin got tough.
Thank you! I will probably harvest it shortly.
This guy/gal freaked me out last night! Looked like he was trying on shoes by the door, walked towards me on two hind feet, if I recall correctly. I don’t know; I was pretty gob smacked. He must of thought I was inviting him in when I was screaming!
Last week there was a mountain lion screaming across the road. So that makes a bear, bats (because the hang just above the front and back doors), mountain lions, and big racoons scaring the bejesus out of me!
All probably looking for water, along with the rest of us.
Looks like he wants to give you some religious literature.
Or perhaps asking for a pancake…
