I'm interested in growing eggplants in containers. I've been told that regular varieties (like black beauty as an example) yield fruit too big to make it feasible to grow eggplant in containers. As a result, I'll grow the miniature variety of eggplant; this variety is known as Bambino.

I have a few questions about this procedure. For growing miniature eggplant, what size container do you need? (please specify this information in gallons) Also with the bare minimum requirements growing mini eggplants in containers (if feasible) how many eggplant plants can you plant per container?

I'm guessing that with growing eggplant, they're heavy feeders that require lots of fertilizer in the soil? Do they have a preference with the type of soil they prefer (sandy, rich, etc.) or are they not picky about what soil they grow in?

Last but not least I have a question that really doesn't have anything do with the original topic, but here goes anyway. I know many varieties of vegetables are known for having huge vines that take up lots of space; it's just the nature of the beast as it were and their growth pattern.

Is eggplant naturally a vegetable that just vines? Does this apply to regular varieties of eggplant and the miniature variety I want to grow, which is the Bambino?

If such is the case, would I need to train the vines of the eggplant to climb a trellis? Would I need to stake the vines like you would stake the vines of a tomato?