Eggplant, Astrakom (Organic)
Solanum melongena. Purple. 60 days.
Astrakom is possibly the best eggplant for short season climates or for those who struggle to get the larger fruited types to produce well. Deep purple, elongated teardrop-shaped fruit are smaller and a bit earlier than Diamond. Compact plants produce lots of medium-small (about 4” long) fruit, perfect for folks who like cute smaller eggplant. Very attractive on a plate when sliced in half lengthwise and roasted. Small plants grow to about 2′, making this variety very suitable for container growing. Originating from one of the many Soviet era breeding programs and was named after the Russian city of Astrakhan, located on the Volga River. It was introduced to North American growers by Belorussian seed saver Andrey Baranovsky.
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Sow indoors in flats with good potting soil as early as February, but no later than April. Keep warm and well watered. Up pot seedlings into 4” pots when they have their first two true leaves. Transplant into the garden after danger of frost has passed, typically late May in western Oregon.
Seed Saving
Collect seeds from fruit that are past typical harvest stage, ripened to a dull yellowish color. Place seeds in a jar then add water to float non-seed debris. Decant and rinse seeds to clean. Dry seed before storage. For seed purity, isolate from other eggplant varieties by 500 feet.
Luna Martin –
Where did you grow this variety? Canada
I have 28 of these plants growing in pots. I was late to get my garden going this year and had to start my eggplants about 6 weeks or so after the recommended date, which is why these little ones seemed like a good idea! First off, that is a pretty good germination rate since I ordered the approx. 30 pack of seeds. Second, the plants themselves are doing fantastic! They each have a number of perfect little eggplants that look exactly like the photo. The plants are compact, healthy, and productive, and I haven’t been giving them much attention at all. I water the pots every other day, and every few weeks I have given them a pinch of organic fertilizer. I highly recommend that anyone in a sunny climate (I’m in the Okanagan) try growing Astrakom – especially if you are searching for a small eggplant that does well in containers.
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Crystal Snare (verified owner) –
Where did you grow this variety? Washington
I’m shocked these guys did so well – 2022 was a weird year! Late cool spring, screaming hot periods with random cool conditions for a day or two. These eggplants (in partial shade, competing with a sprawling quadro tomato plant and spaced too close together) outperformed my tomatoes and shishito peppers by a huge margin, for comparison. Even with my tendency to plant too close (small yard), these thrived! I’m certainly growing em again next year!
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