Hi there! I haven’t seen an eggplant grow report for this year yet, and I just seeded my GTS eggplants. I am so excited for the diversity to unfurl over the season and see what genetic treasures are in this mix.
I am starting them in trays since I have a short season here in northwest Montana, but I will be selecting for unaided vigor. I plan on direct seeding the rest of the packet probably in June, as I’m inspired by some of you to see if that’s possible with different crops.
I have been saving from eggplant varieties that do well here for a few seasons. I gathered 10 other eggplant varieties to trial and select, and add to the mix. This year I intend to try to hand cross some of the GTS plant and the other varieties to see what happens in future generations. I am selecting for earliness to set and produce mature fruit, flavor (not too bitter, roasts well), and pest and disease resistance. I’m curious what other folks are selecting for or get excited about.
I look forward to seeing what comes out of all of your different grow-outs. Save some seeds and send ‘em back!
I started seeds on April 8th and they are coming along nicely. They seem to do well in these tiny soil blocks. Only a few haven’t come up. Ignore the ground cherries to the left, the peppers to the right, and the mystery seedling popping up between the soil blocks 
I’m hoping I get some long purples in this batch because previously “ping tung long” has been our favorite and I didn’t specifically start any of those and it may be a bit too late to start them now and get much from them before Winter.
These look awesome Paul!
Here are my little GTS eggplants growing up fast. They’re just starting to get true leaves. I’ve been impressed with their vigor.
Here are the other eggplants I’m trialing for comparison. The G2S grex was faster than almost anything else to germinate!
Last year I got zero fruits from my field grown eggplants so this year I resolved to start them earlier indoors under UV light. My goal is to start the adaptation process at the new location so for now I just want lots of crossing and fruits with diverse seed.
They are outside in cold benches now growing up to be quite large already.
Today I noticed the first flowers! On four plants. This is amazing to me because last season at this time the seedlings were still tiny (sown outside in the cold bench).
Good approach Malte. @Joseph_Lofthouse mentioned on the community call that he babies plants until there was enough seed to grow out more the next years to select harder. I’m doing that with eggplant, as well. It’s tricky to want them to be tough but also get them to produce seed. Beautiful flowers!