Lord Long Purple Eggplant

Long Purple Eggplant

Growing couple of eggplants on a deck, verandah, or porch is an enticing dream for any gardener in the summer. In India, this vegetable comes in many shapes and sizes: small, long, fat, oval, round, green, white, and dark purple. It is widely used in many dishes in south India – from simple curries, sambar, chutneys, and even in pickles. People keep the sun dried eggplant slices safely stored for preparing out-of-season tasty dishes. If one is not allergic to this simple vegetable, one can enjoy this modest native vegetable throughout the year. Both in south and north India, I have tasted very delicious dishes out of this vegetable. The large round ones (weighing almost a kilo) are ideally suited for making vankayi pachchadi (వంకాయి పచ్చడి). They can be cooked (baked) in an oven or fireplace or red hot coals. Cooking eggplants or sweet potatoes on the hearth in a fire place is a pleasant diversion during the chilly nights in North America. Near Visakha, we used to roast cashew nuts in fire (made from old newspapers) on idle Sundays. I can still recall those middle school days vividly even now. Our drawing teacher (those were really simple days, we never had fancy art teachers – just drawing master, music teacher, or craft master) asked us to make a pencil drawing of a long curvy eggplant. And then we had to color it using crayons. Some colors really catch our eyes and their intensity remains forever on our retinas (mind). Of those, I will always remember eggplant color and the yellow of tamarind flower.

This writer has grown many things - tomatoes, bell peppers, string beans, mint, coriander, pumpkin, melon, sun flowers, gongura (గోంగూర), cauliflower, potatoes, etc. But this is the first time I have attempted to grow the long purple eggplant (the farmer introduced these as “little fingers”) in containers. Many years ago, Gora used to exhort people to grow vegetables in front of offices and collector bungalows. Those were really hard days, India was struggling with limited wheat and rice crops. There is some value in that, i.e., growing valuable food in limited space or vacant (idle) city land. He might have went too far in his rationality. Flower plants also do extreme good, they promote happiness and health around.

This time I resorted to container vegetable gardening out of sheer necessity. On the ground the writer has to wrestle with squirrels, rabbits, deer, and other animals. So, that is the paradox of life: Like the line, “Water, water everywhere/But not a drop to drink”, plenty of space to grow, but very little protection from a squirrel bite. At least above ground, I have been able to fence off some area and enjoy flowers and vegetables. At the farmers market, we got a six pack of eggplant seedlings for a dollar. Now, the tricky job is to grow at least six long shiny purple eggplants in the limited short summer season here. Is it possible to bring this fancy gardening to fruition without throwing loads of money? I want to beat my Bengali Cornell friend in this game. It is feasible with a bit of sensitive touch and dirty hands.

We used some leftover plastic pots. Just recycled the old ones. I could have used old broken plastic pails, juice cans, or gallon milk jugs. In principle we can use any container for vegetable gardening. The containers do not have to be pretty. For a flower plant, I may be a bit choosy, just to bring out pleasing color and style. Layered the bottom with some old pine needles, bark, and coconut shell pieces. I avoided using heavy rocks or crock; that keeps the pots a bit light. In containers, our main problems are twofold. One is to provide sufficient drainage for water. This is essential when we get soaking downpours in summer here. The second one is to give plenty of nutrients for the plant. I collected high quality compost from the county’s recycling yard. So, a bit of compost, some top soil, and a shovel of organic manure – that is enough for eggplant. If needed, we can add a bit of sand to keep the soil loose. Fully decomposed compost is easy to recognize: It is dark black, loose and free of lumps.

The eggplants were transplanted into 9” – 12” diameter plastic containers. Before transferring, I scored/scratched the roots a few places. Otherwise, the root bound plant tends to be lethargic and does not spread its root system easily in the container. All the plants at present have at least one eggplant; some have six or seven hanging from their stems. Most of the leaves (except the oldest ones at bottom) are dark green and there are good number of flowers ready for pollination. Eggplants have both male and female flowers on a single plant. I have noticed one bee coming and going around each flower daily. So, that saves the need for any hand pollination. Anyway, which farmer can hand pollinate each plant? Once the frost starts, I will have to bring them indoors to save the last pick of the crop. So far, this exercise seems to be profitable. No pests, not even the Japanese beetle. Not bad for a dollar. Of course, plenty of care, watering, fertilizing went into it. But these slender eggplants are a rare treat in northeast and the view across a glass window is wonderful. Used 24-8-16 garden fertilizer solution twice a month. A bamboo stake helps the plant from the downward pull of heavy eggplants. In the fields here, farmers just leave the plants without any support.

I wish we had attempted growing eggplants in our garden during my childhood. For some reason, we did not try. But I did remember seeing eggplants in our drawing master’s garden. He had a nice collection of tropical trees like drumstick, sapotas, date, and curry leaf. There in India too, one can buy the seedlings in a farmers’ market. We can grow from the seeds but they need to be transplanted for good results. Here in cold climates, our troubles are many. A short growing season, lack of sun light, too much rain, or bugs. (I must remark in passing, right now even the coastal farmers in India too are going through hard times due to drought. Tough life for farmers, always, everywhere anywhere.) The growing season can be extended a bit by starting transplants indoors in the beginning. One can try a transparent plastic cover in the fall to extend the season for a week or two. In principle, we can save one healthy fruit (eggplant) for seeds. We tried saving for seeds for other vegetables like white pumpkin, snake gourd, gongura, thotakura (తోటకూర), spinach, etc., with good results.

Due to the wet summer this year, I did not have to water the plants frequently. Sometimes, the plants went without watering for three or four days at a stretch. On hot days the leaves exhibit a bit of wilting but soon they recover during the cool nights. The conventional eggplant, found in supermarkets here is the large variety. My friend used to call it as the ‘buffalo eggplant’ due to its enormous size. When we grow these vegetables personally in our gardens, we tend to pick them a bit early, so the eggplants are soft and have fewer seeds. Some people are allergic to the seeds. In India, I did not come across an eggplant (the ones found in markets) with thorns on the stem. But here, most eggplants have one or two thorns on the green stem (is it pedicle?). I did see some wild eggplants (ones that grow in abandoned fields) in India with thorns. Nothing very bothersome but something that need to be watched while slicing the fruit (vegetable) for cooking.

In the early days I hardly cared about these blogs. Many were written spontaneously to encapsulate a particular theme. But I was pleasantly surprised when some of my blogs (a post on Curry Leaf Plant, a blog on a famous carnatic song) attracted thousands. Still, it does not mean anything nor does it prove any hypothesis. Perhaps, some readers find them useful. Or, one of my blogs might have inspired someone to grow a curry leaf plant or venture into singing.

In any case, the writer is obliged to all such anonymous readers. I hope they will continue to find these ruminations worth reading. Whether the article is on music or gardening, it is always written from real first hand experience. In that sense, these blogs are authentic, a genuine distillation of many hours, days, or even months of effort and toil. Copyright 2009

Lord Coriander and Fenugreek

Coriander and Methi

In an earlier blog I wrote here about growing mint. Now that summer is here, this time too we got into some herbs. For the vegetarian Indians, coriander (కొత్తిమీర) and fenugreek (methi, మెంతికూర) are special greens. Nothing can describe the taste of a home made rasam with a pinch of asafoetida (ఇంగువ) and a few strands of freshly grown coriander. Here in US, this green herb is mostly known as cilantro. Nowadays it is available in most supermarkets all round the year. Still, sometimes it is a bit costly. What can you say? There is inflation in India and there is inflation here too, particularly in food items. A bunch of coriander costs a dollar, a can of milk costs two dollars, and a gallon of gas almost four dollars (though it has come down a bit - $ 3.65 now).

So, even in normal times, coriander, methi, and other Indian green leaves are a bit expensive. This is true even in big cities here. But with a bit of ingenuity and patience, any one can grow, these herbs and other green leaves, either in hot summer months or indoors during the cold months. There are a few incidental expenses like potting soil, compost, and a bit of fertilizer. But the intangibles like outdoor activity, bodily exercise, and mental relaxation – they outweigh the meager inputs. You may not make profit, anyway this is only subsistence farming on a very small scale, but you do not incur heavy expenses either. A garden, even a very small one attracts lovely birds, butterflies, bees, rabbits, spiders, and at times some pesky pests (slugs, Japanese beetle, aphids) too. Here, this season, I have seen a whole bevy of winged creatures: Newly hatched wood peckers, chickadees, doves, cardinals, blue birds, black birds, and golden finches. Their musical serenade wakes us every morning here, at very early in the dawn at four thirty a.m.; then they pick up where they leave off in morning again in evening hours, at six thirty, after the sun dips a bit lower. Of course we have interludes of chorus crickets too during midday - on the dog days of summer.

Growing greens directly from seeds needs a little more care. Growing mums or marigolds from established plants is one thing. Growing bushy dark green coriander is another thing altogether. The latter requires high quality seeds, porous nutrient soil, excellent drainage, and right amount of sun, moisture, and shade. And of course, most important – the right temperature. All seeds require the right (optimum) temperature. (How clever plants are, the mother plant would not like her young die prematurely, so a seed will not germinate unless all conditions are fully favorable!) This means, in cold climates germination may have to be started either in green houses or indoors near a sunny warm window. In hot India, usually such crops are started right after monsoon rains because it affords plenty of moisture and cool climate. In hot dry ambient conditions, seeds will dry out too much. Added to this temperature and moisture, we must provide nutrient rich soil. Here, we can do this with either peat moss or nutrimix or compost.

Briefly here is how I potted a small rectangular plastic pot (30" x 8" x 7"). Plenty of holes (I had to drill them) at the bottom for good drainage. Filled the bottom, i.e., the first (lowest) layer with some wood chips, bark, coconut shell pieces, and dried leaves and pine needles. In some respects container gardening is easy, we can lift and carry it to wherever we like – I mean we can transport to provide it with right amount of sun light, shade, and cool moisture. But, this must be borne in mind to avoid disappointing results, container gardening is a bit tricky, just a little difficult. Adequate draining of excess water (from overhead watering or rain) is essential. Plant roots need space to breathe, they need breathing space (oxygen), only then the root system will grow. And unless roots grow rapidly, the plant will not thrive, it will not yield flowers, fruits, or dark luscious green leaves. For some plants, I also use pieces of washed-out charcoal. Charcoal helps to absorb excess water and accumulated gases from the root system.

Upon the first layer of crocks, coconut shells, and pine needles, I poured a mix of top soil, compost, and sand. Try to avoid heavy clay-type soil. We are trying to grow very tender seedlings (coriander, mint, etc.) – their roots are very delicate, a fine loose soil helps a lot. That is why, in India we see farmers growing water melon, cucumber, fenugreek, coriander on dry river beds. Such places contain very fine sand (silicon dioxide), rich minerals, and nutritious clay (brought by river waters). Fenugreek seeds (yellow in color, a bit hard) are used as they are. The seed packets (from Burpee or brand name vendors) are a bit expensive; we can get the same quality seeds from Indian grocery stores. Or, reach for spice corner in your kitchen. For growing coriander leaves, we can use “dhaniya” seeds, again the inexpensive source is – Indian groceries. Each coriander seed yields two plants; we have to split the seed. One way to split the store bought seeds is: Spread the seeds on a clean newspaper, cutting board, or just bare floor. Use a slipper (flip-flops, sandals) and gently rub on the seeds. Spread the seeds with hand (just drop from above, a sort of broadcasting) uniformly on top of soil. Cover the seeds with very fine soil, peat moss, saw dust, vermiculite, or very fine sand. Keep the pot in semi-shaded place. Spray water (use a spray bottle, or just sprinkle with hand gently) twice a day. Methi (fenugreek) usually sprouts within three or four days, it all depends on temperature, moisture, and light. Coriander is a bit tough, it takes a bit longer to germinate. Just be patient. Once you see little plants sprouting out, you can now place the pot in a bit of sun light. Gradually increase duration and intensity of sun light. Soon you will have a dense well sprouted methi and coriander greens in your kitchen garden.

So far I have not applied any liquid fertilizer to this container gardening. One thing I have noticed with many herbs – very rarely they get pests. Mint, coriander, methi, rosemary, or basil, all of them grow without any pest or blight. This could be due to spice oils in their leaves and stems. When we grow plants in containers, we have to watch for sudden heavy downpours, or extended dry hot spells of summer. I try to save these young tender plants from extreme conditions of drought or flood by moving them into shelter. Sometimes I place them under the porch. Or, put them in the protection of big shady trees. Or you can put a plastic cover over them.

I fondly remember an annual festival in our village. In the month of April, all villagers used to grow fresh plants from seeds in containers. They would buy very inexpensive palm-leaf woven containers (they come in all shapes, sizes, and even colors) in local farmers market. Gather soil from backyard, canal banks, farms, or cow sheds. As kids we would buy nine different types of seeds (nava-dhanya) from our kirana merchant and grow the seedlings with tender care and love. After 3 - 4weeks or so, we would take young plants and offer to our local goddess. This festival used to be a sort of harbinger of the first rice crop sowing after a hot summer. Only when one grows oneself from scratch, one appreciates the pains of agriculture. It is heart breaking to see Indian small farmers struggle for quality seeds, fertilizer, water, and fair price for produce – after six decades of independence and umpteen plans.

If you grow these herbs sequentially (staggering) in two or three containers, you can have them ready for cooking throughout the season. With a little patience, you can grow them indoors during winters too. Just you have to place seedlings next to a sunny window, a bit closer to a heating vent. The plants tend to grow tall, with hard stems when the weather is hot and dry, that is only natural. Advantages of home gardening: You can grow herbs and greens with total care, even better than store bought organic brands. Much more మెంతిమజ్జిగ than “inflated organic” produce. The freshly cut coriander, mint, or spinach are often have more flavor than the superstore items. What you find in a superstore is probably harvested several days (even a week) back, then went through long distance hauling, repeated drenches of water spraying, and occasional dry out.

Yesterday, we used freshly cut methi leaves for methi-toor dal (మెంతికూర పప్పు)dish. The taste really superb, no exaggeration implied nor needed. Coriander is still growing in the pot. I pinched a few tender coriander leaves for spicing up “menthi-majjiga (మెంతిమజ్జిగ)" as we ran out of curry leaves.

Some times coriander is sold in stores with roots intact. After chopping off the top tender stems and leaves, we can re-grow coriander from roots. You can have a sort of second harvest of coriander from such roots; this is like growing carrots from (small slice of) carrot tops. Copyright by the author 2011

Lord Growing Mint

Mint

I believe I first came in contact with mint on a trip to Hyderabad. In a traditional south Indian cooking, we never used mint. Mother used to purchase tender amla, new tamarind shoots, wood-apple, and vakkayalu (karaunda, Carissa carandas) at our door step. Once a week, I would lug a bag full of vegetables from local farmers market. But I strictly obeyed her instructions and preferences. Come to think of it, very rarely we used to buy separately either curry leaf or coriander in the village. Either we used to grow such herbs in our kitchen garden or we would get it free from a neighbor’s garden. In some places (Maharashtra or North India), coriander used to be thrown in as a freebie with vegetables. Where and when? The reader may ask. Not so, here in US– certainly neither coriander (cilantro) nor mint. Of course there are some freebies here also. When you go to strawberry or apple picking, you can eat as many fruits as you like on the farm. They are the best berries and apples, I have ever tasted. Very rarely big stores stock such fresh delicious (except apples in the fall) items. In supermarkets as well as farmers markets, I come across a peculiar problem with fresh herbs here: often all the herbs (coriander, mint, parsley, or rosemary) are packed in the same box or placed very close. This leads to mixing of all the flavors. Thus you end up with a coriander bunch smelling like some other herb (rosemary) – a sheer total waste. So, nothing like picking up fresh mint, coriander, or curry leaf from your own kitchen garden.

Mint is a nice addition to any kitchen garden. It brings lush green color and strong flavor to the patch. Through home gardening, children can learn and appreciate natural flavors from home gardens. Very easy to grow, anyone can do with a minimum effort. Normally, in most (I mean strict vegetarian) dishes, certain things are avoided: garlic, mint, and onion. In North India, I came across garlic, onion, and mint vegetarian dishes. In moderation, these three items are good for health. In fact, mint extract (pudina-ark) is sold over the counter as a remedy for stomach disorders. Of course, all these have strong flavors. Chewing a bit of cardamom or clove bud alleviates any lingering after effect.

Here, in northeast, mint grows in the wild. I do not know who planted this herb in the wild. I witnessed it growing vigorously in dry loose fertile soil on hilltops, near flowing streams, and in the shade (spear mint, its leaves are pointed). All green leafy vegetables share one common feature. Sunlight is essential and beneficial for plant growth. But, too much strong scorching sunlight makes certain (ex: lettuce, mint, coriander, fenugreek, and spinach etc.) leafy vegetables grow into skinny tall plants with hard fiber. Bright sunshine also promotes extensive flowering. Thus, mint grown in early summer, spring, and fall seasons is more bushy, with full of closely spaced leafy nodes. But late in the season (hot summers), you get a bit skinny mint with flowers. Some farmers use thin cloth (cheese cloth or plastic woven cloth) to provide light shade for leafy vegetables. We can also grow mint in a shady location next to a wall or under a large tree.

The wild varieties of mint are a bit too strong for Indian cooking. In a local store, I came across apple mint, candy mint, and other varieties. Such flavors are good for cough drops, candies, or other confectionary dishes. Recently, I brought a bunch of mint from an Indian grocery store. The leftover stalks are utilized for growing mint. We can grow it in a container or in the ground. I have not used any special soil for this plant. I just packed a few bark chips, pine needles at the bottom to block drainage holes. Then mixed a bit of ordinary top soil with peat moss.

Since I did not get time to plant the mint shoots immediately into soil, I left them in a bit of standing water (in a glass). Did not add any rooting compound. In a couple of days the shoots developed (white) roots (rooting is a bit easy in spring or fall here). I transferred the rooted stems into a 6 inch plastic pot. Probably I placed the pot in a cool shade for a week. Right now it sits on a sunny deck, gets about 5-6 hours of bright indirect sunlight. It is growing rapidly into a nice compact lush green mint. Whenever I look at it I am tempted to rub its leaves for that fresh mint aroma. But, my Cornell plant scientist once advised me not to pinch or rub leaves. It harms the plant and may make the plant susceptible to disease or pest. Many leaves contain essential (and protective) oils and compounds; they protect the plant from disease and pest. So, I leave the mint to grow till we decide to harvest. I do not know what I’ve fed this pot, but the large green mint leaves (photo) do indicate that the plant has got plenty of rich nitrogen. We can visually observe the leaves contain oily compounds; rain water drops just roll off from mint leaves. Of course, all leaves have this hydrophobic surface property (the best classic example, lotus leaf). But with some leaves this property is more pronounced – for example, rubber plant, mint, mango, etc.

Mint is one of those spreading plants. It can quickly run to the edges of your garden and cover entire field thick. Thus, it can be used as a spread under big trees. Often trees have circular barren patches around their trunks. Such spots can be filled with herbs like mint, coriander, sweet basil, ajwan/vamu, or methi. Periodic pruning and cutting back is the only solution to this wild uncontrolled growth. It can withstand prolonged periods of cold, frost, or drought. Even though the plant looks dead outside, its roots are always in good health underneath the soil.

Where do you get good soil or quality soil ingredients? Like all those skilled farmers in my village, I believe in efficient gardening. In India, I used to get help from local horticultural department or farmer friends. Here too, once I got valuable decomposed manure from a local farmer. Our local city has a compost facility, for a nominal fee one can get plenty of compost for house garden. Other materials like bone meal, perlite, fertilizer, etc., I buy them when they are on sale. Usually, garden supplies are cheaper at the end of growing season. Earlier days, gardening supplies used to be relatively inexpensive. Now, inflation everywhere – fresh vegetable prices are going through the roof. So are the prices of soil, fertilizer, seeds, and seedlings. In the farmers market, a shopper complained (it speaks volumes about prevalent times!) about the exorbitant cost of tomato seedlings. About tomatoes, later.

In the village, on couple of occasions my mother ran into difficulties with kitchen gardening. Once, she found the soil to be too alkaline. The soil looked a bit like wheat flour – loose flakes. Nothing would grow, neither beans nor spinach. She approached our farmer friend for a solution. He readily agreed to haul and unload two carts of rotten cow manure. That invigorated the entire garden; soon, it produced abundant crops of snake gourd, beans, bottle gourd, white pumpkin, and of course, plenty of marigolds, jasmines, and hibiscuses. Another time, she found our bananas growing a bit slow. She was worried whether they would ever produce a flower, forget about seeing hundred fifty ripe bananas in her backyard. Again, another farmer gifted her a few shovels of super phosphate fertilizer. Soon, our bananas produced the sweetest fruit. I have never tasted such delicious bananas anywhere else, not in India, not in US. I was lucky to taste a tree ripened banana twice – once in our own kitchen garden, and then later in Matla Palem on a summer vacation. Be it guava, custard apple, or banana, you got to taste it when it is ripe on the tree.

Pudina (mint) is used in pudina-pulav (పుదీనా పులావు), pudina chutney (పుదీనా పచ్చడి), pudina-pakodi (పుదీనా పకోడి). Copyright by the author 2010