Aubergines...I am gobsmacked

rms1

We tried growing aubergines from seed at the start of the spring and after reading so much on here about how difficult they are to grow especially in the North (Manchester) we more or less gave up. We left 2 plants in a raised bed and 2 in pots and just thought we would get some nice purple flowers.

When we got the hose pipe ban I didn't even water them. We have just been doing some tidying up and to our amazement, hidden under the leaves we have found about 8 fruits growing really well in fact 1 of them looks ready to harvest.

I am absolutely gobsmacked.

Ilovecubbage

you are lucky devil, I wish I was so lucky. Nothing on mine.:(

irishwexford

Will try growing some on allotment next year. I thought they would be difficult to grow. Thanks for that.

foxgloves

I haven't grown aubergines this year, but I usually do, in the greenhouse. They are unpredicatable. I've always got some, but one year for some reason, I got about 2 dozen from 4 plants.....good size too. The next year, I did exactly the same, same variety, etc, and got about 6 & some tiny ones. Came to conclusion that they'll grow if they feel like it!

m33r4

Well done!

Are they attractive to pests at all? I have problems with pests eating everything but ivy in my garden!

littleredhen

i have a nice recipe for aubergine bake if you want it

m33r4

littleredhen wrote: »

i have a nice recipe for aubergine bake if you want it

I like it baked too. I bake it with fresh tomatoes and a fresh red capsicum. When baked, just mash the lot up with a little olive oil, salt, pepper ...mmm

How do you do your littleredhen?

butterfly72

We have 6 plants, 3 in the green house and 3 outdoors in pots. I'm not sure what variety there are as we were given them. We've had one aubergine per plant so far. They're not massive fruits, I'd say medium, the size you'd pay a quid for in the supermarket.

We had one in a thai curry last night!

Edit: my favourite recipe.. egg plant salad. Grill the aubergine till the skin is charred. Peel it off and mash the flesh with a fork. Add mayo, lemon juice, salt and crushed garlic (all to taste) and mix. An alternative to mayo is Tahini. Enjoy with warmed pitta.

littleredhen

m33r4 wrote: »

I like it baked too. I bake it with fresh tomatoes and a fresh red capsicum. When baked, just mash the lot up with a little olive oil, salt, pepper ...mmm

How do you do your littleredhen?

2 lb of aubergines
10 oz strong cheddar

coat aubergines in seasoned flour and pan fry in olive oil - set aside
make a home made tomato sauce

5 large tomatoes
1 small onion
1 medium carrot
heaped tsp flour
1/2 pt stock (water and tomato puree)
1 bayleaf
basil
salt and pepper
dice carrot, onion and heat butter - put in carrot and onion but don't brown
put in tomatoes roughly chopped simmer for 15 mins
blend flour and stock add to simmering pan
put in bayleaf simmer for 30 mins (take out bayleaf!)
add chopped basil at end and either push through a sieve or use a blender to make nice and smooth
layer aubergines in ovenproof dish and ladle on sauce and grated cheese on each layer
finish with grated cheese - bake for 25 mins at 180c

enjoy!
its lovely with crusty bread

m33r4

Sounds lovely Littleredhen!

Primrose

rms - Well done. I'm surprised they've done so well so far north in a border but it just goes to show that that you can grow them in our climate. I haven't grown them this year but last year I grew 6 plants on our patio and ended up with more aubergines than we could comfortably eat.