I grow an Italian variety called Violetta Lungo (long purple) originally from Franchi, but now I'm growing from my own saved seeds. They are thinner than the typical supermarket eggplant and have much better flavor. They don't produce as heavily has the PTLs, which I have grown in the past, but we don't eat a large amount of eggplant and what they produce is more than enough.
And I used the same technique posted by Saltmarsh for saving seeds and being so small, they do survive the blender. I had my doubts at first, but a germination test re-assured me that they were just fine.
As for the brown spots, I also see those too towards the end of the season when nights are getting cooler. I never looked into why they appear, but just assumed it was weather related. Maybe someone knows the reason and chimes in.
|