Description and features
In their work, scientists were guided by completely understandable reasons: ordinary “little blue” ones are pretty bitter, and the larger the fruit, the more noticeable the bitterness. The white hybrid has lost a specific substance, anthocyanin, which gave the purple ancestors their rich color and characteristic bitterness. That is why eggplants are white, and the taste has become more delicate and has lost its bitterness.
Thus, white eggplants are eaten raw in salads and snacks, without being subjected to heat treatment. And white eggplants with mushroom flavor will replace the forest delicacy for those who are allergic to it. However, having lost anthocyanin, eggplant also lost some of its beneficial properties. This substance reduces inflammation and oxidative stress in the intestine, and also significantly increases its barrier functions, which directly affects the immune system.
White eggplants - growing
Growing white eggplants is no more difficult than classic ones. First, let's study the theory: choose varieties, take into account the specifics of the soil and the climatic nuances of the planting region. It is important to correctly calculate the timing of sowing white eggplant seedlings and planting prepared seedlings in open ground or a greenhouse.
Seedlings need to be sown in early March. Seeds are placed in containers with fertile soil. It is necessary to provide the seedlings with comfortable conditions for proper growth and development (+25°C, access to sunlight, regular watering). Additionally, the mixture is improved with mineral fertilizers: ammonium nitrate (1 kg/m2), potassium salts (2 kg/m2) and superphosphates (5 kg/m2). After germination, let the seedlings get stronger, and then pick.
Bambi F1
One of the most interesting and sought-after representatives. Its uniqueness lies in its unpretentiousness and decorativeness. With fairly intensive rates of growth and development, the hybrid has very modest dimensions, no higher than 50 cm. For this reason, it is very popular for lovers of home gardens. The bushes bear fruit successfully both in open ground and in greenhouses, and, most valuable, on window sills and loggias. Despite their miniature size, the bushes produce a harvest of oval 70-gram fruits of at least 4 kg per square meter. Unlike other varieties and many vegetables, this unique hybrid is absolutely indifferent to crop rotation and crop rotation.
Photo: Variety Bambi F1
White eggplants - care
White eggplants are planted in the ground or greenhouse 2 months after sowing. These vegetables love loamy and sandy soils and get along well with legumes or herbs. All eggplants love water, but drafts and strong winds do not.
But, as with any agricultural crop, there are several nuances to consider.
Proper watering
The root system of eggplants is weaker than that of other nightshades - peppers, tomatoes. They need more moisture. In hot weather, water once every 3-4 days, in cloudy weather - once a week. Watering is done only at the root. Use settled water at a temperature of 25-28 degrees.
Loosening the soil after watering
Around young eggplants you need to loosen to a depth of 4-5 cm. When the plants begin to bear fruit, increase the depth to 8 cm. To increase oxygen access to the roots, plants are also hilled to a height of 6-7 cm.
White eggplants - garter and shaping
A couple of days after planting the seedlings, they must be tied to a dug-in peg, since fragile shoots may not withstand the weight of the fruit. If you want to grow large white eggplants, then leave one large flower in the inflorescence and remove the rest. If you need several small eggplants, do not remove them.
Top dressing
After 2 weeks, when the seedlings have taken root, the first feeding is carried out. Like seedlings, adult plants are fed with saltpeter (1.5 tablespoons/10 l), superphosphate granules (1 teaspoon per bush) and potassium salts (1 tablespoon/l). Plants are also fed when the first buds appear and when the first fruits set. In the latter case, the dosage can be increased by 50%.
White eggplants - disease prevention
Viral plant diseases cannot be treated; only prevention helps. Avoid overwatering eggplants, monitor temperature changes and drafts, and use fungicides. Traditional diseases of nightshades, gray rot and late blight, are prevented by the preparations “Chorus”, “Quadris” or “Antrakol”.
These simple tips will help you reap a good harvest and protect your plants from disease.
Eggplants in purple outfit
Traditionally, in Russian gardens, purple-colored eggplants lead in popularity, and the palm almost throughout the country belongs to two varieties of eggplant.
This is the Black Beauty variety, which attracts the attention of gardeners not only for its unpretentiousness and the ability to grow both in film greenhouses and in open ground, but also for its decent yield and quality of fruit. Dense brown-purple eggplants weighing 200–350 grams do not have a bitter taste, are well stored and are not susceptible to common diseases of this crop.
Second in the garden popularity ranking is the Almaz eggplant variety, distinguished by its 200-gram fruits of deep purple color. The shape of the fruit is oblong, smooth, the pulp has a pleasant taste without any signs of bitterness.
In addition to these well-known varieties, other varieties are worthy of gardeners’ attention:
- producing a lot of small, oblong fruits, weighing up to 150 grams, the Purple Miracle variety;
- eggplant variety Banana with elongated fruits that can be stored for a long time without loss of quality;
- large-fruited Black Beauty variety with fruits up to 900 grams, bright black and purple color.
Adherents of the traditional pear-shaped form will like the productive Albatross variety, which forms compact bushes from which large, up to 450 grams in weight, blue-violet fruits with dense greenish flesh are harvested.
Round eggplants, which are gaining popularity, are convenient for stuffing, canning and stewing, so varieties and hybrids that produce fruits of this shape are becoming increasingly in demand.
An example of a plant of this type is the Black Moon variety of domestic selection, which produces almost ribbed spherical fruits of a dark purple color with a glossy surface and light green flesh without traces of bitterness. Eggplants weighing from 200 to 350 grams can be harvested within 110–115 days after planting, and the ovary is formed even at low temperatures, and the plant stably bears fruit for a long time.
The high-yielding early hybrid Bourgeois also produces round eggplants with a glossy black-purple surface and almost white tender flesh. The weight of the fruit reaches 400–600 grams.
For cultivation in film and winter greenhouses, you can choose the City F1 eggplant of medium ripening, characterized by high stable yield, excellent taste and transportability of the fruit. The plant is powerful, reaching a height of more than 1.8 meters, and bears large cylindrical fruits weighing up to 0.5 kg.
The eggplant variety Dirigible is in no way inferior in yield, whose fruits weighing up to 120 grams can be harvested 125–135 days after emergence. Due to the dense crown and abundance of foliage, the yield may fall, so plants of this type of eggplant require thinning and removal of excess shoots and leaves.
White eggplants - the best varieties for open ground
Many varieties of white eggplant have been developed today. Let's consider the most productive, tasty and unpretentious:
Bibo
The variety is unpretentious and tolerates less than careful care. Suitable for planting in open ground (under film). Productivity is average, 5 kg/m2. Early ripening, after 85 days the first oval milky-white fruits appear, weighing 350-370 g. The pulp is medium-dense, there are few seeds.
Iceberg
Medium early ripening variety. Good for a greenhouse, but allows open ground. Grows up to 50-60 cm. After 115 days, it begins to bear fruit with oval white eggplants weighing 180-200 g and up to 20 cm in length. The pulp is juicy, without voids. Has a spicy taste.
White eggplants taste like mushrooms
Early ripening crop (105-110 days). Productivity reaches 8 kg/m2. The fruits are elongated, resemble a pear, up to 20 cm. The pulp is dense, juicy, with a characteristic mushroom flavor.
White Night
This variety, with an average yield (8 kg/m2), has a phenomenal early maturity (75 days). “White Night” eggplant has a closed shape, weighing up to 300 grams, and has delicate flesh with a sweetish taste.
White eggplants - ping pong
Universal unpretentious culture. Mid-season (110-115 days) variety with average yield. The fruits are spherical, up to 7 cm in diameter. These eggplants have a bright taste.
Swan
This variety is a record holder for yield (up to 18 kg/m2). Ripens in 110 days. The weight of cylindrical fruits is up to 250 g. The taste of these eggplants is delicate, piquant, and the color is unusual, creamy, yellowish.
Bambi
Perhaps the most unpretentious variety. It can be planted in a greenhouse, in open ground, and even grown on a balcony or windowsill at home. Up to 5 kg of small (70g) ovoid fruits are collected from one square meter.
White eggplant - pelican
The culture is average in all respects. In soil under film it ripens in 110-120 days. The output is up to 7 kg of glossy-white cylindrical fruits per meter of area.
White egg
The variety was bred in Japan. With record ripening times (from 60 days), it produces large (200g) ovoid fruits with a delicate mushroom taste. It is preferable to plant in a greenhouse.
White Swan
Not to be confused with swan. Eggplants are mid-ripening (110 days), the fruits (100-120 g) are elongated, with thin skin. These fruits have dense flesh, so they are well suited for long-term storage.
There are many more varieties of eggplant without bitterness, among them the “blue-winged dove” variety with blue-lilac colored fruits, but experienced gardeners claim that the above hybrids are most suitable for our latitudes and soils.
Description
White eggplants are nothing more than hybrids bred by breeders from ordinary purple eggplants in order to improve their taste. The fact is that blue vegetables contain special pigment substances anthocyanins - these are plant glycosides that give plants an intense dark color and a characteristic bitter taste.
During the process of hybridization, biologists simply isolated this pigment and obtained a variety that differs from the base variety in the absence of bitterness and dark color. It is fair to say that anthocyanins are very beneficial for human health - they are a strong antioxidant, protect the body from free radicals and remove radionuclides. Therefore, although white eggplants are tastier, they are inferior in properties to purple vegetables.
When choosing a white variety of eggplant for a garden bed or greenhouse, you should give preference to early and mid-season vegetables that are capable of producing a good harvest, despite difficult climatic conditions. Of course, white eggplants are not as diverse as blue ones, but there are still plenty to choose from:
Ping pong. This variety is a favorite among white vegetables. The original small (5-7 cm in length and weighing 80-90 g) spherical fruits have dense, non-bitter pulp, are easily transported and stored. The crop is early ripening - technical maturity is achieved 115-117 days after sowing.
Iceberg. The fruits are elongated (15-20 cm), widened towards the bottom, with white, dense, non-bitter pulp, reaching a weight of 150-250 g. The variety is mid-ripening (115-125 days), resistant to temperature fluctuations and diseases.
Swan. Early ripe eggplant (98-115 days), suitable for growing in the ground. The fruits are cylindrical, long (18-25 cm), large (180-300 g). The peel of the fruit is yellowish, the flesh is white, very tender. Transportable, high-yielding, can last for a long time.
Icicle. An early-ripening variety with thin and long fruits, really icicle-like, 20-30 cm long. The pulp is dense, cream-colored, without bitterness. Suitable for growing in greenhouses and garden beds.
Pelican. An early ripening hybrid recommended for greenhouses. The fruits are long (16-20 cm), cylindrical, 4-5 cm in diameter. The pulp is slightly creamy and dense. Eggplants are well transported and have an attractive presentation.
Snow. Early ripening variety (100-106 days) for growing under cover. The fruits are long (18-20 cm), slightly curved, with a glossy surface, weighing 280-350 g. The peel is thin and tender, the flesh is white and dense. Quite productive - from 1 sq. m you can collect 4.5-5.8 kg.
White Night. Early maturing hybrid (100-112 days), suitable for growing in garden beds. Quite hardy, can set fruit at low temperatures. The fruits are cylindrical, wide, weighing 200-250 g. The pulp is white-cream, dense. Productivity – 5.5-6 kg per 1 square. m.
Ovoid. An original mid-season variety designed for warm climates. The fruits are small (30-40 g), ovoid, with a white glossy surface. Suitable for stuffing and canning whole.
Of course, these are not all white eggplants. There are several other varieties that have an unusual taste: champignons, chicken meat, nuts. Several intermediate hybrids have also been developed that are green or light purple in color, but they taste the same as regular white vegetables.
White eggplants - application
White eggplants receive deservedly positive reviews from professional chefs and housewives. This product can be safely used in recipes where you are used to seeing “classic” eggplant.
Young vegetables are eaten raw, lightly marinated with honey and cranberry syrup, or grilled simply by drizzling with olive oil and adding salt. Ideal for homemade eggplant caviar, and the mushroom flavor is felt much more clearly than in a dish of “blue” eggplants. Housewives also use them for home preparations for the winter. These include eggplants in tomato, and all kinds of salads, pates and caviar.
Advantages and disadvantages of this type of eggplant
The advantages of white hybrids are more tender pulp and skin, smaller number and size of seeds and the absence of the bitterness of the “big brother”.
The disadvantages of these eggplants include a very short (for some varieties - only a couple of days) shelf life and difficulties with transportation due to the extreme tenderness of the vegetables.
But universal varieties (swan, iceberg) are stored much longer and tolerate transportation satisfactorily.
Blue eggplants are more unpretentious and require less care, and the benefits of anthocyanin have not been canceled. Post Views: 936
