The New York Monster Eggplant, also called the Very Large Round Purple Eggplant , is a late, vigorous heirloom variety, not exceeding 50 cm in height . The fruits of the New York Monster Eggplant are rounded, dark purple with a glaze , very large and can reach up to 4 kg ! The flesh is firm, of good quality, and contains few seeds.

How to successfully sow New York monster eggplant

Sowing : in a pot of fine seed compost in March/April on a warm bed ( constant 25°C ) indoors or in a heated greenhouse. Cover the seeds with a few mm of seed compost then press down. Place your pots near a window. Water the surface lightly if the compost dries out.

Planting eggplants

Transplant the young plants measuring 15 cm into the ground at the end of May in fresh, deep, humus-rich soil with a warm, sunny exposure , 50 cm deep in all directions . Hoe, weed and hill up the eggplant plants. Water regularly at the base, prune like tomatoes. Mulch.

Good associations

You can place an eggplant crop next to bush beans .

Harvesting eggplants

You will be able to harvest your eggplants approximately 5 months after sowing .

The enemies

• Mildew : will cause gray-green spots to appear on the leaves, while the underside will be covered with a white felt. As a preventative measure, hoeing and watering with nettle manure and horsetail tea. Before the plant flowers, or as soon as the first symptoms appear, it is also possible to treat with Bordeaux mixture .

• Red spider mites : the leaves first become covered with gray spots before taking on a bronze appearance, then drying out and falling off. They weave webs on the leaves. Cut off the aerial parts and burn them. A treatment by spraying with black soap or nettle manure can then be considered. A plant insecticide (Anti-Aphids based on Pyrethrum) can also be used.

• Colorado beetles : pick them by hand.

• Aphids : attack leaves, buds, and stems. Spray with a solution of black soap or nettle manure . A biological plant insecticide, such as Pyrethrum-based Anti-Aphids , can be used in the event of a major attack.