Market Farming

[Karen Sutherland & Roots Farm <rootsfarm AT marpin.dm>]

Title: rootsfarm_signature

Eggplant is one of our specialties and we grow more than 20 varieties.  The Asian varieties that I know (apart from the green Thai types and some long white varieties are quite firm) vary in softness but are all considerably softer and have shorter shelf life than the usual supermarket fare.  They are also more delicate in flavor and rarely get bitter before seeds develop.  (A good eggplant, Lynn, to start tasting -- you may end up liking.)

We make sure the eggplant is picked at shiny stage, totally dry, and if we need to hold for longer than overnight, refrigerate in thick plastic bags.  Even the soft varieties will hold well for close to, sometimes more than a week (although we wouldn't market any that had been held for more than a few days because of their expected reduced life.  Instead we would enjoy or convert to value-added product baba ganouj which can be frozen and held.)  It is important that the eggplant not be in the coldest part of the fridge as there will be damage if they are too cold. 

By the way, some of our customers have marked preferences for age/size of eggplant.  We make sure we have a variety -- which happens  anyway when we are picking mostly once, maybe twice a week. 

All best wishes,

Karen

Karen Sutherland
Roots Farm
Organic Produce : Fruits, Roots, Vegetables & Herbs
Cockrane, Dominica
767-449-3038
rootsfarm AT marpin.dm

 

robert schuler wrote:

Lynn you are doing everything right. Some varieties are softer than others.
You harvest and display them like all eggplant on the stand away from direct
sunlight. They tend to hold for two days in firm condition then get soft and
wrinkly. When they get soft I toss them. I try to only pick as much as I can
sell in a day often I will pick twice a day to insure freshness and quality.
Whatever you do don't put them in the cooler...Bob.
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton, NJ.

Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:

  

I don't know much about eggplant (don't like it much so I rarely grow it).
I'm growing several varieties in my market garden this year because a
couple people asked for it. The long oriental type are soft...should they
be that way? I harvest them at about 8-10" long. The big dark purple ones
in the store are hard as rocks, and my other varieties are firm but not
hard. Is 'soft' normal for long orientals or are they under/over ripe?

Also, should they be refrigerated? I normal leave the veggies out in the
farm stand during the day and refridgerate everything except tomatoes at
night (I'm only open 3 days a week and harvest fresh every week...give
away or feed any excess to the sheep after market days)

Lynn Wigglesworth
Peasant Farmer
Tioga County, PA
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