Hi Katyajini, My experience is that Eggplant looks more like pepper than tomato, although all are in the same family. Eggplant have a more upright growth than tomato, and have larger leaves than pepper. Branches will come off the main stem and the friut will form at the ends of branches and on top. The plant size can vary significantly. My Fairy Tale" plants stay pretty small, but "Green Goddess" and "Rosa Biance" are huge (need to plant 2' apart). You can tie the main stem to a stake so it doesn't fall over, however, you will want to support the branches which have the fruit weighing them down. If you only support the main stalk, these fruit laden branches may break off (which has happened to me). I prefer to put a tomato cage over them. The kind with circular rings are easy to find and pretty cheap. I prefer them since I have trouble keeping up with all the tying. The cages I have are not as big as the ones I use for tomato plants, I think they are about 3' tall before you push them down into the soil. Eggplant are pretty easy to grow, just don't crowd them, you'll get less production. The only pest problem I've had is with flea beetle. The plants will generally withstand quite a bit of flea beetle holes, but I try to keep the population down. Since I prefer not to use chemicals I just squash the little buggers. I put on a thin rubber glove and squash the flea beetles onto the leaf with thumb above and forefinger below the leaf. Happy Gardening! Potterhead

new_gardener_girl, There are many variables that will affect the overall size of the plant including soil health, water, sun, temperature, pests, disease, transplant stress and recovery, etc. Your plant is doing the best it can do under it's environmental conditions. It does sound a little small overall, but I wouldn't worry about it. If you want, go ahead and harvest the existing peppers so the plant will rush to create more flowers which will create more fruit in order to achieve the plant's goal of self preservation by successfully creating viable seed.

Slimy Okra: Wow, someone actually noticed I live in Switzerland! Actually, in my part of Switzerland (Geneva area), we do get decently hot summers. In fact it hasnt rained in the last about 2 weeks and temperatures have been up to 30 degrees Celsius everyday! I would even say that if stress had been the cause of the bitterness, that it was due to the heat and me missing a day or two of watering (I do water it everyday now). I am hoping for some rain today finally! Just went out and picked the second fruit. It is a wee bit smaller but the sheen is the same - bit dull and not as glossy as the ones in the supermarket. So either that's just the way this variety looks, or I am just completely clueless and waited too long. Possibly both! Seysonn: I will be traveling to Asia later this year and believe me, I will be stocking up on all the yummy oriental varieties and other veg! Thanks all!

Firstly... how long are your arms? 5' is a bit wide for SFG. Sure, it can be done, but the idea is to not step in the bed. I use 4' and I have long arms. I guess I could do 5', but it would get old fast. Try it the first year and see how it works out. Next, I think I would put the squash up front (southward). You could let it cascade forward (again, towards the south) into the walkway. A bit of a pain, but a good way to maximize growing space. Next, the eggplant. Yes, stake or cage them, but they only get about 4'. or so tall. Those cheap cages work good, but any stake would do just fine. If nothing else, cages and stakes help the plants grow upward and stay neatly in place... an important factor in crowded spaces. You seem to be missing labels for the cherries. Are you doing 4 and leaving empty spaces? Also, you have Moneymaker listed twice. I looked them up, and 1 source said the vines get about 5' tall. At least one of your cherries get over 6'. Most SF Gardeners like determinates. This doesn't preclude indeterminates, but put your shorter varieties toward the front. Be prepared to prune if necessary. You could stake the maters, but look into a weave. Just takes 2 strong stakes on the ends of each tomato row with twine running across. It's a good space saver, but you may need help to weave it as they grow. Finally, make sure you do a trellis on the back for your cukes. Properly trained, they won't need a ton of space. A metal fencing, or concrete reinforcing wire supported on the back corners of the bed work very well, are durable and reusable, and since you won't need much, won't be too expensive. I may be missing things, but those are my first impressions.