Ichiban Japanese Eggplant
 

Hi,


Has anyone here grown these japanese ichiban eggplants? I planted a long row this year and they are looking great so far.... some of the plants are loaded with 4-5 fruit. Are they mild tasting or bland? I'm going to harvest a couple of them in a few days. Most of what i've read says to harvest when they reach 6-8 inches long but that just seems to small.


-Dave

I don't have ichiban but i have 2 kins of japanese eggplants growing. Based on my experience, they are mild-sweet especially when harvested young. They are quite early to compared to italian eggplants.

I suggest you harvest them around 6". the more mature the fruits, the more seedy it will become.

BTW, Welcome to TV. :)

i grew ichiban a few years ago. it is a very productive plant! eggplant can be eaten at any size you don't have to wait for them to get bigger. in fact older fruits can be either bitter or tough i forget which tho i think bitter. i used to pick all my eggplants of any variety based upon how many were maturing, it was hard to keep up so i picked them smaller rather than larger.

tom

We have grown ichiban for about 4 years. The taste is about the same as the larger variety. It is a good variety and you will enjoy it. Usuallu, 4 plants produces more than we can eat and give away.

It is very productive indeed, and seem to have very good tolerance to drought and well resists pests and diseases, the only one survives in my garden due to flea beetle attacks each year, so I stopped growing anything else.

Regards,
D

It is an awesome eggplant, good texture and great flavor. In our super short summer I get one big harvest followed by a smaller but just-as-good second harvest. In warmer climates they will keep giving and giving.

Hey everybody.

Just wanted to post a quick update. I picked most of them around 6" long and allowed a few to reach 8-9" and added them all into a casserole. I did not see much difference in flavor between the longer ones; maybe a slight less sweeter.

I am very impressed with these ichiban plants and I think i'll grow them again next year. They are doing extremely well here in the Louisiana climate. They should rename this variety 'The Energizer' because they just keep going and going and...

Thanks for all the feedback,
-Dave

Thats great to know. Also try kamo next year. :D

Ichiban is one of my favorites, mostly because they are so early and productive.

Ichiban
 

I love my ichiban. I harvested 15 fruit just last week off one plant. The fruits are much sweeter and more tender than Black Beauty, never bitter and far more prolific.
What on earth will you do with so many eggplant? My husband and I eat it almost every night for 5 months from one ichiban and one black beauty.
My plants are just celebrated their second birthday. I started some seeds, just in case their production slows down but right now they're producing more than ever.
I started seeds for Ping Tung Long and LA Long Green just to try something different. I don't think I'll grow anymore Italian style, once my Black Beauty gives up.

This is my first year with Ichiban too. It's been pretty amazing. The fruit grow to maturity very quickly, and from three plants I've begun getting about four every three or four days. But there are a lot more fruit setting now, and I'll no doubt be giving a lot away. My black beauty, on the other hand, has just begun its first fruit.

I think I'll stick with Ichiban from now on. No need to peel or soak. And no worries! It just sits there and lays eggs... so to speak. It's a very pretty plant, too.

Christine

How small do you pick the fruit?

I picked the first two when they were 6 or 7 inches long, simply because one was touching the ground. (I cut the second one so I'd have enough to cook with.) The rest have been 7 to 9 inches. But clearly there'll be some more that will be touching ground before they get that long.

I think they're supposed to be able to grow a little longer (11 inches seems to ring a bell). I haven't noticed any difference in taste due to length. They grow, I'm hungry, I pick.

Today I noticed that one plant may be dying. Half its leaves are yellowing, suddenly. Anyone up on diseases of eggplant and cures?

Christine

eggplants are sensitive to the amount of water the get. Too much and they turn yellow.

Thanks about the length info.

Tonight I noticed one plant was falling over. I had to pick three large fruit. One was quite long; the other two were shorter, but had become fat. I picked two more off of the other two plants and gave them all to my garden partner, as I'd already picked four a few days ago. That's nine eggplant in less than a week! Plenty more on the way.

Christine