Good luck with them.

Most eggplants can be managed in 18" pot. Some maybe in smaller pots, I think. I usually grow Japanese Ichiban. They get about 2 1/2 ft tall. This year I am going to plant also Indian eggplants, The fruits are the size of an egg( eggplant !)

I think you will be happy with the Red Robin tomatoes. I'm growing them too this winter, in pots on my windowsill. They have rugose leaves - very crinkly and dark green - and sturdy little stems which bear a lot of fruit.

Linda

Thanks, Seysonn. Linda, that's good news ! I think I'll start them in April for setting out (in pots) in mid June.
I haven't ordered or started seeds in ages so this is great fun for me !

you can start germinating and growing your seeds inside 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date and plant out after the danger of frost is gone and the night temps stay over 45F. I can imaging in zone 9b it should be sometime in March.

Even though many use the 6-8 week preplant period we are talking here about a compact dwarf plant that you might consider stretching out the period and potting-up so you can be harvesting fruits weeks earlier. You can set pots in for the night or otherwise protect them much easier than a taller growing plant. I have (for plant sales of this variety) planted 14 weeks early and ended with plants in 2 gallon pots that could easily be moved will no harmful effects to the plants. With this variety one could just keep the plants in that size pot and place them up on a stand to check for ripening fruit since the dense foliage causes most early fruits to not be readily visible from above the plants. I plant hundreds of tomato varieties, transplanting most to garden soil, but for Red Robin and a few other dwarf vartieties I just have never seen the need to take that final step, mainly b/c they look their best in a pot. Keep in mind that an 18" tall plant has a tendency to be shaded by any taller growing plant near to it.

I hadn't thought of that ! They can be indoor southern California mini toms now ! What a hoot ! They're going to have to make do with sunlight though, I'm not doing the supplemental lighting thing.
If they don't do well I'll just do more in the spring.

Hi Deeby,

I grew Red Robin on my windowsills in NC for a couple of winters and they did very well. I did pop them outside on warm sunny days.

Good luck!
Linda

They came today. The days are so short I'm going to wait to plant them.

They're up ! I planted four seeds in a Jiffy domed seed starter.
Fun !