Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Solanum melongena

A New Season’s Tasty Treats

Posted in Gardening Tips on January 28 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.


Solanum melongena
Solanum melongena growing in the Family Garden

This is the time of year when gardeners like to cruise the seed catalogs looking for something new, hoping to create a renewed palette of edibles for their garden in the coming months. For those of you that like to delve into the world of vegetables, there are a few fresh faces on the market representing a favorite of mine that’s as good fried on its own as it is stealing the spotlight from chicken parmesan.

Today I thought I would give you a glimpse into some of the new offerings on the market to whet your appetite for the upcoming gardening season. On the eggplant scene, Johnny’s Select Seeds is offering two new Indian types this year—‘Suraj’ and ‘Raja’.

Both ‘Suraj’ and ‘Raja’ are small eggplants that average 2 ½ – 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. ‘Raja’ is a white eggplant while ‘Suraj’ is a pretty, medium to light purple. The plants are compact and high-yielding. Due to the diminutive size of the eggplants, this new duo is recommended for stuffing.

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