When to Harvest White Eggplant

White eggplants should have bright skin when they're picked.

White eggplant (Solanum melongena) varieties include Casper, Easter Egg, Ghostbuster, Osterei and Tango. Each of these white eggplant varieties requires a different amount of growing time between planting and harvest.

Time Frame

Ghostbuster eggplants take the longest to be ready to harvest at 80 days. Casper eggplants take about 70 days from transplant to be ready for harvest. Easter Egg takes 52 to 65 days, while Tango takes about 60 days. Osterei, which takes less than 60 days, is considered one of the earliest fruiting varieties of eggplant.

Fruit Size

Pick Easter Egg eggplants when they're about the size of a chicken egg or just smaller. Osterei eggplants are goose-egg sized and shape, though you needn't wait until they're quite that big. Harvest Casper before they're over 5 inches long. Ghostbuster and Tango should be picked while they're about 6 to 7 inches.

Considerations

When the white skin on the eggplant fruit begins to dull or turn brown, it is overripe and likely bitter. Cut off the fruit and discard. If it is only slightly bitter, soak it in salt water to lessen the bitterness. The smaller and younger the fruit, the sweeter and juicier it will be.

References

• Harvest to Table: Eggplant Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
• University of Illinois: Eggplant
• Iowa State University: Eggplant
• University of Missouri: Eggplant Production
• North Carolina State University: Eggplant
• "75 Exciting Vegetables for Your Garden"; Jack E. Staub, Ellen Buchert; 2005