On acidic soils, add lime to raise the soil pH. Varieties There are many varieties of eggplant with varying shapes and colours, which include purple, white, yellow, green, pink and red varieties. The eggplant with most demand is dark purple and globular in shape, such as the Black Bell variety. A good tear-drop variety is Epic and miniature purple varieties include Little Fingers and Baby Fingers. Seedlings Seedlings are usually six to ten weeks old, with five to seven leaves, and are 10 to 15 cm high when they are transplanted into the field. In Perth, they may need to be grown in a greenhouse in winter for early spring planting.
Most varieties are hybrids.
It is preferable that seedlings are ordered from specialist nurserymen in cell-packs. Planting Crops are planted in Carnarvon from January to April and July to mid August. Crops in the Perth metropolitan area are usually planted from September to December. Early crops can also be planted in Perth from late July to September and raised in cloches. These provide higher air and soil temperatures, and hasten crop growth, reduce pest problems and give protection from wind, heavy rain and sand blasting.