"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
Mark wrote:
We live near Vancouver, BC and have been trying to grow eggplants for
the last two summers. First year nothing and last year we had one
eggplant on five plants.

Does anybody know of a good variety to grow in a Northern climate?
I'm ready to order seeds and want to try something new. We're hoping
for a warmer summer this year (the last two were milder than normal)
so that might help.

Any hints on growing them would be appreciated also. The wife read a
lot about them last year and we tried some different methods of
growing - but to no luck (well, maybe a little luck - the one edible
eggplant gave me hope for this year!).

I am not familiar with the Vancouver climate other than despite being
maritime it is somewhat chilly. Eggplant like a long, hot, sunny growing
season. According to wikipedia the four warmest months have temperatures
ranging from about 11C to 22C. I would say unless you can arrange a
warmer microclimate there is no chance of raising healthy eggplants. Also
I would start the seeds indoors or in your hothouse and transplant when it
warms up to give the plants the best chance of a long growing season.

I'd agree with everything that David said but in addition I would add that
they really need more heat for a longer time than tomatoes, so if you can
grow good tomatoes then you could still have problems with eggplants but it
could be possibile to grow them. I can grow good tomatoes but have had less
sucess with eggplants because of a short growing season. This year I'm
trying the smaller Labanese style tomatoes rather than the big ones. No
sign of fruit yet and the flowers are only just appearring but I've just
picked my first tomato for the season, so I'm hopeful that if we get an
extended Autumn, I might get some eggplants.