Aubergines

[feet of clay]

My aubergines haven't got flowers yet.  Not grown them before so don't know what to expect.  They are in the greenhouse.  Got toms, peppers, chillies and a few herbs in there too.

[feet of clay]

[Mrs Ava]

Don't worry FoC, mine only just have buds coming and seem way behind others, but tis still only the start of July, I am confident  :-\ that they will catch up and I will be eating Mousakka (sp??) in October dreaming of Greek beaches!  ;D

[Doris_Pinks]

hehem, errrrr, gonna pick my first very small aubergine tomorrow! ;D

[Mrs Ava]

Bugger!  If it isn't 18 foot tall sunflowers, it is aubergines in July!  

Ahem....erm...when did you sow them there seeds DP?  ;D

[tim]

FoC - as said, don't worry. I was a full month late sowing this year, & no flowers are open yet. So no fruit till September, which shortens the season. They take about 5 months from seed to fruit. Hence the need, ideally, to sow EARLY in heat. These are the long, thin 'Asian' type which I prefer. Comme ca -

But. as a precaution, I bought in some plants from Simpson's, which were probably sown in February, & are going well -

A nice aubie site is - http://www.vidaverde.co.uk/aubergines.html =
Tim

[Granny_Smith]

No flowers on mine yet. During the day they look fine and happy, but first thing in the morning they have their 'hands' up over their heads - must be too cold in the greenhouse at night.

[feet of clay]

Thanks everbody.  I sowed the seeds in March (Lidl 29p) - they are the purple variety.  
My courgettes are producing frantically!

[Doris_Pinks]

EJ, I didn't sow any seeds!!!  It s the one thing I actually buy as a small plant, which I then pot on. Think they went into the grow bags in April, after they had reached about 5 inches tall. So I cheated a bit! ;D

[Mrs Ava]

I think I might go down that route next year DP & Tim with bought in plants as I really only need a couple of plants as it is only me in the whole wide family that likes them!

[Doris_Pinks]

Thats exactly the reason I do it EJ.........aubergines to my kids =Poison! ;D (and courgettes too for that matter!!)

[cleo]

will pick my first standard purple one tomorrow- variety `Bonica`-looks like a good one, still waiting on Macchiaw,Thai Green,and one with a long Italian name ;D

Stephan.

[tim]

You know that Macchiaw are discontinued?? = Tim

[cleo]

No I didn`t Tim- was old seed- any reason you know of?

Stephan

[tim]

Don't know. At least, Simpson's have stopped. Managed to get some left-over seed this year. Shame, because the shape of M is perfect. Never squidgy & just the right size for pickles. You can still find it in mixed packets of 'Asian type' fruit.

If anyone has enough aubies, I do strongly recommend Mamta's Auby Pickle. It really IS the mostest. Just finishing our last jar of '03 tonight. = Tim

[tim]

I'm rather pleased with Orient Express.

Nice shape. Not pappy. = Tim

[Belinda]

Slightly off-topic question for Tim - what camera do you use? I assume it's digital of course. Your pics are always very impressive and I'm contemplating buying a new camera, hoping to get some shots of the lottie and maybe wildlife too if possible.  B

[tim]

You're very kind, B - I kick myself constantly for getting things out of focus so often. With the old SLR, you got what you saw. With digitals, the display is V difficult to see in sunlight.

Lots of other folk will tell you what they have but, for what it's worth, I use a Canon PowerShot A70 3.2 mega pix. But daughter's A40 - with only 2. something mp - actually seems better!!

The choice is mind boggling, but my requirements are:
1. Good feel - ie bumpy grip.
2. Ability to take wide angle lens - which I use 75% of the time.
3. Readability.
But for you -
4. For wildlife - a good optical zoom.
5. Go and HOLD it. And speak to a chap - or chapess.

I am not discerning, having been brought up in the days of 'Box Brownie' - & printing my own things in a sunlight frame at school - and, in the late '40s, doing my own colour printing.

The best of British luck!! = Tim

[feet of clay]

My aubergines have been reading these posts and therfore shamed into performing!  I now have very pretty flowers.  Where do you all buy your baby veg plants from?

[tim]

Who, me??

All?? About 25% I suppose.. Life is so uncertain (like the cold frame lid flattened a tray of lettuce!) that I buy in backups of some plants. And it does give me a bit more spread in harvest times than I normally achieve on my own.

I get tom, aub & pepper plants from Simpsons
Brassica , leeks & cucumbers from Marshalls or Dobies.
Potatoes (don't produce my own!) from the Organic Catalogue.

I tried a couple of things from Victoriana this year, but had a bit of trouble. = Tim

[tim]

And foc - lovely flowers, yes - but mind the prickles!! = Tim

PS - This is why I like small aubs: