Eggplant issue

10 years ago

Hello!
Okay, so here's the situation. I live in zone 3 which is not part of the Eggplant hardiness, however I was told that sometimes eggplant CAN grow because we get so hot here in the summers.
I had 5 eggplant plants, all of which grew fairly well (one even started to fruit), but struggled. 3 of them got infested with aphids (which I finally managed to get rid of), and we had a summer of heavy rains. I did some research and was told I could try to bring in my eggplants for the winter provided I monitored them carefully and gave them good conditions.
One of them died almost immediately (discovered a huge aphid infestation that I couldn't get rid of), and the other one is still alive BUT I am having some issues with it.
I have it under a grow light and it is in a warm spot, and as far as I am aware I am watering it adequately. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that lower leaves were starting to curl under and develop spots in grey or brown, then they would fall off. I did some research and although the vertical stem was showing no signs of brown streaks, at a recommendation I cut off the affected leaves in case it was vertillicium wilt. The remaining leaves are not that discolored, however they *are* still curling under.
Any ideas? I have inspected this plant thoroughly and there are no pests at all.
Photos to follow.
Thank you!!!

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Comments (7)

dancercr
Original Author
10 years ago
Peter (6b SE NY)
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Doesn't look like it is verticillium to me -- and even if it was, cutting the leaves off isn't going to help.

I am guessing it is issues related to garden soil in a pot. Someone more experienced overwintering plants from outdoors can maybe help -- I have had no success. Honestly those plants don't look worth overwintering. You can certainly grow eggplant in your zone, but it requires some work (season extending stuff) and the right variety, started as transplants indoors. If I were you, I would just plan on starting fresh in the Spring. You could easily grow fresh transplants that big for transplanting at the proper time. I recommend Hansel eggplants for the short season. What are your first and last frost dates?
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Pumpkin (zone 10A)
10 years ago
How long ago did you dig it up? It looks like it's got root damage and it is trying hard to recover. I don't know if that's wilt--my infected eggplants have the yellowing only of half of the leaf first and not scattered like that.

How much water are you giving it...could also be struggling from wet feet.
dancercr
Original Author
10 years ago
Well actually it's in the same soil it's always been in, and it was in the same pot to begin with (all of my eggplants were in large pots).

The reason I cut off the leaves was from a Nursery employee's recommendation...but I didn't see how it would help either.

As for water, I water it when the soil is dry and powdery about 1 or 2 inches down. Maybe once a week?
dancercr
Original Author
10 years ago
Anybody else have any thoughts? I'm so clueless!
grandad_2003
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Eggplant are one of the few plants that thrive in our mid summer south Louisiana climate. So my guess would be that they are not "happy" with the indoor climate.
Ohiofem 6a/5b Southwest Ohio
10 years ago
Eggplants want a lot of sun. What is your light source? A sunny window is not enough. I grow my eggplants inside under four foot T5 high output lights for ten weeks before planting them outside in late May. They are 18-24 inches tall and have a lot of large leaves at that time. What variety are you growing? Some of the Asian varieties, like Ichiban, have a shorter DTM and might make it in your climate if you start them early indoors.