Eggplant is a no go for my hubs but he likes okra (I don’t). Maybe the answer is to grow both, lol. I had a lot of success with eggplant a couple of years ago but didn’t grow it last year because I couldn’t eat all I grew on my own!
1 Like
My wife disliked eggplant as well, but it turns out she only dislikes the large purple globe varieties (of which I’m not a huge fan either, unless sufficiently deep fried). I started growing Japanese ones five or six years ago and she’s fully embraced them, even asking me to grow more of them last year than the year before. Maybe there’s hope for your husband yet, if you can just find the correct variety 
1 Like
I’m afraid life is getting too short for eggplant trials to that end, but I have been looking for ones I will like. And that are suitable for Earthboxes. I have several kinds of seeds but I’m trying Patio Baby. Maybe it’s not too late to try another. Little Fingers? Kitchen Garden Seeds says 10 weeks from seed to planting out size! Some others.
My daughter just brought me these seeds from a trip to Thailand.
I don’t think they are intended for the usual uses in the kitchen.
2 Likes
Does anyone have a recommendation for the soil/ compost mix they use in their containers or grow bags for container gardening?
Do you add any peat, perlite or vermiculite?
I have used commercial container gardening soil in the past, but it seemed it didn’t drain that well.
1 Like
For years, I was preparing eggplant in a dozen different new ways for my DCs each summer.
I finally realized last summer, both DCs like fried eggplant, papoutsakia, and other Greek /Italian/Middle Eastern stuffed eggplant.
One DC likes Eggplant Parm, and the other DC mostly likes Indian-style eggplant dry curries, melitzanasalata, and some styles of babaganoush.
After 20 years, I’ve stopped putting time and effort into trying new eggplant dishes. LOL.
1 Like
I don’t recall what we used initially to fill the raised beds, but it wasn’t very premium stuff. That was 10 years ago. Since then, when we top off every year we use a basic farmer’s blend, and add compost and worm castings. We do not add vermiculite or similar, as it interferes with good carrot production, and since we have to rotate our carrot beds on a 5-year schedule (rust fly), all the beds have to be “carrot friendly” in the case they are the designated bed in a given year.
(Similar to vermiculite damage.)
1 Like
In my Earthboxes I use huge bales of Pro Mix. There’s a few kinds. HP is high porosity I, I think with extra perlite, and BX which claims to have myco-something.. Nowadays I usually have to order it a few days in advance and my local Ace will deliver it. It’s mostly peat, I think from Canada 
. I also get bricks of coco coir I mix with perlite for smaller projects or refreshing used mix. In my non Earthbox containers I add compost or leaf mold.
I can get free compost spring to fall from our local recycling facility, and try to make leaf mold each year.
1 Like
thanks!
thanks! I add compost, peat, chicken manure as fertilizer and some 3 in 1 mix to my cold frames each season, and sometimes some lime.
It’s the large pots that I’m having more trouble with. I’m going to try some Pro Mix mixed with peat and vermiculite in a few pots this month. I was so eager that I went ahead and planted potatoes, leeks, parsnips, spinach, chard, beets, carrots without amending the soil apart from chicken manure on top.
I’ll add peat and compost to these same parts of the garden in 6 -8 weeks once whatever I have planted now has been harvested.
We have clay here so we need to add quite a bit of peat, sand or compost to help the roots grow a little more easily.
1 Like
Spring veggies du jour. Spinach for tonight’s pasta salad and asparagus for tomorrow night’s stir fry. 
6 Likes
Thr old Silver Palate series had a spring risotto with asparagus, English peas, and spinach. It’s delicious…I need to go dig that out of the cookbook library
2 Likes
Today’s pick: kale, spinach, and asparagus.
Also, a couple of gratuitous shots of our tomatoes, their cold frame opened up to harden them off (will close the cold frame up each evening), and hothouse basil.
5 Likes
Nice! Do you use all of those? I’m growing some for a Master Gardener exchange and will be glad to have them out of here.
2 Likes
Do you mean the tomatoes? No. I always plant waaay more than I want to grow, just in case. There’s usually a Great Tomato Give-Away in our front yard once I’ve selected the plants I want for myself. The neighbors make out pretty good.
Good idea! Lucky neighbors.
Yes and the basil.
Lol! The basil is All Mine! I’ll make as much pesto as I can grow basil (freezes well). I made it a goal this year to grow more than I have in previous years. I’ll be seeding every 3 weeks until it’s over.
2 Likes
Have you already said which tomatoes you are growing? If not, readers want to know!
Here’s mine, give or take a few.
1 Like
OMG! Kudos to you! You are so more ambitious than we are.
We’ve tried several varieties in the past - both heirloom and not, but ultimately have settled on Oregon Spring for the slicers, and Ruby Crush for the grapettes. These both work very well for us in our climate, and we’re provided with plenty with few issues.
2 Likes
I’m growing Scotia Tomatoes for the first time this year.
2 Likes
