Eggplant and Hokkaido

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This year I decided to make a couple of bold decisions in my garden, and try to grow things I'd never grown before, among them eggplants and large (Hokkaido) pumpkins.

There was no special motivation for trying the eggplants, I just like them, saw a seed package and decided to go ahead and buy it. I've read that they like warmth and also take their time to grow, which makes them less likely to succeed in cooler regions, as it might get cold before the fruit has fully developed. That's why I decided to start them in the house early enough (in March), and only took them out in mid-May (around the Ice Saints days). Since all the plants are in containers, I can also move them to my small greenhouse in case it gets cold before they have grown. 

The first eggplant flower opened today!

Regarding the squash, my challenge was space rather than experience, as I have successfully grown zucchinis before and thus think of myself as an expert in the subject of Cucurbita species. Our garden is not huge, and I didn't want to have large squash plants taking over the lawn, so I decided to grow them in containers. I was lucky to get a few large pots from someone who was moving to a smaller apartment and needed to get rid of stuff, and so I put my squash plants (which I had also started early in March and managed to save after Dulcinea, my little dog, decided to taste them!) in the containers and first let them grow a bit in the greenhouse before taking them out. Following the "Three Sisters" planting system, I also planted corn and peas in the same pots: all of them have been growing nicely and supporting each other. 

One of my little pumpkin babies. 

So far, both the eggplants and the pumpkins have been growing well and without problems. I hope that this will not change, and also try to do my part with regular fertilizer and compost applications, and periodic spraying with horsetail extract to prevent powdery mildew and other fungal diseases. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope to harvest before the summer ends!