Today's harvest

[Just Cooking]

I sure love seeing the bountiful pics from everyone's gardens. Looking forward to seeing more as the season progresses!

Me also... I miss having a garden...

Ross

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

YAY!
My little patio pot garden is not only giving us tomatoes, but now we can see cucumbers and bell peppers coming soon!

 

[blissful]

We put in new blackberry vines this year, on a trellis. They start producing the second year, so next year. Off some of the old shoots from last year that had been trimmed back, we have a few black berries. They are amazing tasting, rich, raspberryish flavor.

 

[bethzaring]

eggplants, cucumber, green pepper and a variety of summer squash named, calabacitas, the squash used in the side dish of the same name. and green beans

 

[taxlady]

We put in new blackberry vines this year, on a trellis. They start producing the second year, so next year. Off some of the old shoots from last year that had been trimmed back, we have a few black berries. They are amazing tasting, rich, raspberryish flavor.

What's the pink fruit?

 

[blissful]

What's the pink fruit?

It's a little tomato!!!!

 

[larry_stewart]

Great Produce people, hope you're having fun cooking with them.
Im away from home for a few days ,so I'm guessing when I get back, Ill have quite a bit waiting for me.

Looking forward to it though .

 

[taxlady]

It's a little tomato!!!!

It's cute. I was wondering if it was a tiny tomato.

 

[Just Cooking]

It's cute. I was wondering if it was a tiny tomato.

Reminds me of an old joke take off of Mother Goose...

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockleshells

And one *&)$#@^ onion.



Ross

 

[dragnlaw]

I picked an eggplant yesterday. I wasn't sure if it was ready but it was resting on the ground and...

So I cut off a couple of slices and threw them on the grill last night. They were rather bitter - not inedible but not delightful.

I thought I had read somewhere that 'now-a-days' eggplants have had the 'bitterness' bred out of them. That they only become bitter with age. I realize Japanese eggplants, with their delicate skins are not bitter, but that is not what I planted. I planted the globe type.

Was it because it was not ripe? It seemed to cook up properly and inside seemed ripe, you could see the seeds.

I haven't had a garden for several years, but I don't remember my eggplants ever being bitter before.

 

[bethzaring]

I picked an eggplant yesterday. I wasn't sure if it was ready but it was resting on the ground and...

So I cut off a couple of slices and threw them on the grill last night. They were rather bitter - not inedible but not delightful.

I thought I had read somewhere that 'now-a-days' eggplants have had the 'bitterness' bred out of them. That they only become bitter with age. I realize Japanese eggplants, with their delicate skins are not bitter, but that is not what I planted. I planted the globe type.

Was it because it was not ripe? It seemed to cook up properly and inside seemed ripe, you could see the seeds.

I haven't had a garden for several years, but I don't remember my eggplants ever being bitter before.

I only have one experience with eggplant. I just harvested and ate my first eggplants this week and they were not bitter. I followed online advise to salt and drain sliced eggplant.

Removing the Bitterness from Eggplant | SAVEUR

 

[dragnlaw]

Well, I did try salting them this afternoon... just to see. Sprinkled a couple of slices with kosher salt on both sides. Then forgot about them as I got busy. Finally went back, rinsed them off and pan fried them... delish.

So I have a choice - always salt

OR

test it again with an eggplant I'm sure is more mature

 

[blissful]

When I pick eggplant from the garden, I don't salt it and rinse it, I just use it, it is not bitter. The same for celery, that we grow. MY DH has a bitterness detector in his tongue and he can identify store bought celery as too bitter, yet, home grown he likes it quite a bit!

Things grown in drier conditions will also have more concentrated flavors. So they may dry out a bit in dry conditions on the plant, and they may dry out a bit after harvest if they take much time to get to market.

 

[dragnlaw]

Well, yesterday when I picked the eggplant it was about 45 minutes before I prepared it. Don't think I can get much "fresher" than that!

I'm thinking it just wasn't ready. I also agree, other years that I've grown them I've never had bitter ones and I am not a fan of salting them either.

We've also had so much rain I wasn't even sure I would get anything other than rot! I have not had to water the garden once this year aside from the day and day after I planted them. That's how much rain we've had!

 

[blissful]

Well, yesterday when I picked the eggplant it was about 45 minutes before I prepared it. Don't think I can get much "fresher" than that!

I'm thinking it just wasn't ready. I also agree, other years that I've grown them I've never had bitter ones and I am not a fan of salting them either.

We've also had so much rain I wasn't even sure I would get anything other than rot! I have not had to water the garden once this year aside from the day and day after I planted them. That's how much rain we've had!

Okay given excellent rain fall and watering, that you picked it when it was perfectly ripe, and that you prepared it not long after picking...I'll share this with you.

When a plant is stressed it sends out bitterness. This is especially true of lettuces. Studies have indicated (that I've read) that the plant will usually send out bitterness so that bugs/predators don't eat them, so just a big bug infestation can stress the plant and it begins to send out bitterness for survival.

There are other stressors that also create this environment, the environment to send out bitterness, for survival purposes. Plants that are grouped in big bunches, send out pheromones which bugs are attracted to. If they are planted further away from each other, in different garden beds, the low concentration of the attracting pheromone may protect them from clouds of attracted bugs. Once the bugs begin munching the plant gets stressed.

Stress can also be caused by temperatures outside the range that the plant likes. You are growing a plant, eggplant, it is happiest at very warm temperature, so growing them in Montreal might be a stressor, alone. Stress can be caused by not enough water, too much water, or a soil PH that is too high or too low, for that particular plant.

If you are going to continue to grow eggplant in Montreal, then I'd suggest doing a soil test before next year, and get your ph and minerals right for that plant. Also, something we are trying next year for warm weather plants, is to use a good quality black woven landscape fabric for retaining heat (we live in WI, fairly cool state weather wise). We are growing sweet potatoes, a warmer weather plant not commonly grown in WI, using the black woven landscape fabric, to retain heat, because sweet potatoes like higher temperatures. The sun heats the black woven fabric, heating the soil, making the sweet potatoes happier.

Yes, plants have feelings too.

The only other thing that might cause the bitterness is the particular type of eggplant. I'm going to weigh in that it is the stressors causing the bitterness in your situation. Sorry!

 

[dragnlaw]

Thanks blissful - very interesting. But I think you can rule out temperature. Montreal's summer's are pretty warm, matter of fact this summer has been a doozy... I've rarely turned off the A/C! But you might have hit it on the spot with humidity/rain - or another stress factor that is hard to figure.

I don't live in the city itself but about an hour outside. I'm in a bit of a micro whatchamacallit area. I'm growing a wisteria, which I never thought I would be able to here, has not ever bloomed yet but it is still a baby at 4 years old, it might be another 2 or 3 years before it does. It may never bloom - LOL, but I'm hoping. My neighbour's magnolia is magnificent!

About the only thing I have found so far that will not grow in our area are peach trees! Even the nursery's don't carry them in this area as they never make it, seeing as they often 'guaranteed' their plants(trees) - they were losing money! LOL. Have to be in southern part of Ontario for good peaches.

Probably 1939 and 1940... my older brother in the back yard! Love it.

 

[GotGarlic]

Thanks blissful - very interesting. But I think you can rule out temperature. Montreal's summer's are pretty warm, matter of fact this summer has been a doozy... I've rarely turned off the A/C! But you might have hit it on the spot with humidity/rain - or another stress factor that is hard to figure.

I live in the city itself but about an hour outside. I'm in a bit of a micro whatchamacallit area.

Micro climate

I agree with bliss on the temperature stress aspect. I looked up the temps in Montreal this summer and the 70s and low 80s on occasion are not really that hot. Eggplant is a tropical plant that needs consistent temps in the 80s and 90s for several months in order to bear well.

"How to Grow
Eggplant is easy to grow in the low desert southwest. It does well in a variety of soil textures, but prefers rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. It thrives in full sun and requires at least five months of warm weather for fruit production.*

"The optimum daytime growing temperature ranges between 70°F and 85°F. When temperatures rise above 95°F, eggplant ceases to set fruit and may drop flowers or abort immature fruit. Fruit set is also reduced when temperatures fall below 60°F.*

"Because eggplant requires a long growing season, gardeners typically set out transplants in March once danger of frost has passed and daytime temperatures are consistently above 70°F.*

"A gentle reminder here - temperatures below 50°F can damage these tropical natives so, if an unexpected cold spell hits, cover the plants to provide protection."

https://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/pubs/0203/eggplant.html

 

[taxlady]

I live outside Montreal too and in the direction towards where Dragnlaw lives. I think that this summer we have only had one day where the high didn't reach 70°F and plenty into the low 80s. So, optimal of "... between 70°F and 85°F..." doesn't seem to be the problem. Loads of people grow eggplant around here, so nurseries may have cultivars (is that the right word) particularly well suited to here.

 

[blissful]

Micro climate

I looked up the temps in Montreal this summer and the 70s and low 80s on occasion are not really that hot. Eggplant is a tropical plant that needs consistent temps in the 80s and 90s for several months in order to bear well.

https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-grow-eggplant-in-cooler-climates/

Eggplants hail from India, where temperatures can occasionally top 50°C or 122°F (yes, really!). So with cool, northern summers it should come as no surprise that these plants need as long a growing season as we can possibly muster; it’s very much a case of early to rise and late to bed for these tropical beauties!

Sometimes the words on the screen can't be heard, as someone said, people only see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.

Stop being anyone's google momma GG, let people that want to fail then, fail. That's what happens to me when my opinions are dismissed and invalidated. What harm is done?

Even people get bitter when put out in the cold.

 

[GotGarlic]

I live outside Montreal too and in the direction towards where Dragnlaw lives. I think that this summer we have only had one day where the high didn't reach 70°F and plenty into the low 80s. So, optimal of "... between 70°F and 85°F..." doesn't seem to be the problem...

For five months?