Miss Emerald: I know they like warmth. As for the water heater, that depends on what you have planted them in. Peat pots and such will dry out in a few hours and you'll have toast. If you're in plastic or styro, you may have a few more hours, but you need to watch carefully. I grew "standard" eggplants for years and never found the yield enough to justify the space. I only have a small raised bed for these. Last year, a neighbor grew Fairy Tale and I was smitten. They're too cute and very compact. High yield, too. What I like it's that they're very versatile--the eggplants grow in little bunches, so you can grille or do the parm. Last year (I think), Hansel and Gretel were introduced to rave reviews. Small and compact, one is deep purple and the other white. I've seen them offered as a "trio" with Fairy Tale. Eggplant parm is one of my favs. You bet I'll share recipes! Prof

I have been growing eggplants for three years in east central Wisconsin. Ichiban Imp.- wonderful, prolific, tasty Snowy - delicious, prolific, white and lavender Rosa Bianca - only got two, tasty Millionaire - heavy cropping, delicious purple I had the most success growing them in very large plastic and wood pots on my cement patio, which gets quite hot with a lot of reflected sun. I planted petunias in front and eggplant in back of the pots, fertilized them with bloom booster every other week, usually watered daily, depending on the weather. My favorite recipe is to slice them diagonally, add red sweet pepper strips, sometimes zucchini, onion, garlic, then lightly drizzle with a mixture of balsamic vinegar & olive oil. Toss. Spread in foil lined pan, sprinkle with "Mayo Clinic Everyday Seasoning" and roast at 400 degrees for about 25 min. Spread basil pesto on both sides of a split french bread loaf. Layer on veggies, sometimes shrimp or thin sliced smoked ham. Top with cheese. Bake till bubbly & golden. Eat open faced or closed.

Okay, so I put olive oil on it and sliced it thin and roasted it in the oven. The girls liked it, my older one said it tastes like "oprahs" which is okra, and my husband really liked it a lot. YAY! Paula, I think for the kids, slice it in long, "french fry" shapes, and maybe give them a dipping sauce. I also read where you can sweat the eggplant with salt like you would cucs, then roast them, so they aren't as spongy. I bet roasted up like that would make them even better for my girls. Tasted a lot like squash to me, and a little creamy. They got tired of baby carrots and ranch dressing, so today I sliced regular carrots long ways and made several 7-8 inch long slices. Then criss-crossed them on a plate with 2 dollops of ranch and some dill sprinkled on top. I said it was a fancy appetizer like at the restaurant, and they oooo'ed and ahhhh'ed at how pretty it was and gobbled it up. LOL. Many times it's in the presentation for the kiddos. I wonder if you put some kind of shake and bake type coating on the eggplant, then baked it, if they would eat it like fish sticks or chicken fingers. Thanks, everyone, can't wait to try baba ganoush with naam. Jammie

Mostly just the fertilising regimen. If planted in the ground and you do your pre-planting soil enrichment right, I’ve found that you don’t really have to fertilise eggplants at all (depending on your soil of course, though mine is really sandy). But in pots I found that even with a good-quality potting mix with slow-release, the fruits were still stunted unless I kept up a steady regimen of feeding, and even then it can be hard to get full-sized fruits. I guess there’s also that I’m less likely to successfully overwinter them if they’re in pots and the support is a bit tricker (again, tomato cages really helpful). I’m a super lazy gardener, though, so you might be fine with the extra effort involved. Good luck!