How to grow and harvest eggplant?

I am a country girl who was brought up with having gardens year round, so I was always working in the garden.

I always leave a space in my garden for some eggplants. Eggplants need a warm, sheltered spot, but since there is modern hybrids and grated plants they can grow well in cooler climates. 

Eggplants come in many different varieties to choose from such is, classic large-fruited purple-skinned types to the tiny green or white-skinned types that are used in Asian cooking. "Moneymakers" is a large fruited variety that I can grow under cover or outside.l "Calliope" is a eggplant that I can grow in a container. It producers a good yield of small fruit. "Black Enorma" is one that I like to use because it yields real larger eggplants and they make a lot of eggplants.

I decided that I am going to use seeds for my eggplants. The first part of spring is when I start sowing my seeds under cover. This is how I do this, buy filling small pots with seed compost, water the compost well, and let it drain.  I put my seed on the surface, spacing them about 3/4 inch apart, and then lightly press them into the surface by using a pencil. Next, i cover all the seeds with compost, water them real good and put all of your post not a heater propagator. When my seedlings get large enough that I can handle them. I will plant each one  in an 4 inch individual pot of multi-purpose compost, and grow them under cover. Feed each eggplant plant regularly with a balance liquid fertilizer so they will continue on growing.

When you see roots appearing through the bottom of the post, they will need to repot the plants individually into containers that is 12 inches wide, fill each container with multi-purpose compost. After this, they are put in a greenhouse to grow.

When I am use that we are not going to have any more frost, this is when I plant my eggplant out in a summer sheltered spot in my garden. After I have all of my eggplants planted, I will put up stakes to support all of my plants. After they grow to 12 inches tall, I then pinch off the main shoot and this promote bushier growth.

I keep my eggplants well watered, and so soon as I see the first flowers appear, I switch my general purpose, liquid feed to one that is high in potash that encourages fruiting.

Eggplants are ready to harvest as soon as the are large enough. Always make sure the skins are shiny. Pick regularly ot encourage fruiting, and  need to remove small fruits at the end of the season so the one that is still on your plants can develop fully.