Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners - Variety Details

Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners is a citizen science program

Explore Varieties
Find:
in:
crop:
sort by:
order:
Login to limit results to your state or frost-free growing season.

'Neon' Eggplant

Sub-Category:	Early

Sub-Category 2:
Description:	Early hybrid. Deep-pink, semi-cylindrical mid-sized fruits with a bright green calyx born on strongly branched plants. White flesh is mild.
Days To Maturity:	65
Seed Sources:

Rating Summary

Overall: (4.0 Stars) Taste: (4.2 Stars) Yield: (3.8 Stars) Ease/Reliability: (3.8 Stars)

Reviews

Login to share your Review of Neon.

Number of Reviews: 5

KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease

Reviewed on 03/02/2010 by Bonnie - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Multnomah, Oregon, United States Frost Free Season: More than 203 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
This is the best eggplant I have ever grown. Over the years I have tried lots of different ones. Last year I couldn't get Neon and tried 10 other kinds that were not as good in terms of taste, beauty and abundance. Some were horrible. I usually get 15 to 20 egg plants here in Oregon. I can see why the person from Hawaii din't get good results, Neon is best for cooler summer climates. Even when it is hot here during the day it cools off at night. I help it along by covering the soil with black plastic to keep them warm. I drip water them. It is an early eggplant. The shape is more useful than icaban, that grows well here, too. but I like to broil slices. Neon is never bitter and isn't as seedy as some I grew this year. I have a friend who had been growing them from seed and says the big drawback is the seed germination rate.

Reviewed on 03/10/2009 by GardenerHI - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Frost Free Season: More than 203 days Soil Texture: Sand Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Poor germination and low yield. Most watery and lame tasting eggplant I have ever grown. Did not grow well- must not be resistant to our local bacterial Wilts, or maybe the problem was nematodes, not sure. Pretty fruits, but there are heirlooms such as Rosita and Italian Bicolor that are just as pretty and taste much better. This one was a waste of my money and time.

Reviewed on 02/01/2009 by Mid-Indiana-Gardner - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Morgan, Indiana, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Mildest eggplant I have grown. Some sources indicate some resistance to Verticillium Wilt. I have grown it both in an Earth Box (tm) and in the garden with very good success. It is as beautiful as it is good tasting! I find it interesting that more seed sources don't carry this fine hybrid.

Reviewed on 12/21/2006 by pepperhead212 - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Gloucester, New Jersey, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
One of my two favorites, this eggplant, along with Ichiban, are the two I plant every year, and try a few new ones alongside them. The color is an intense purple, making it a good ornamental plant, once it starts producing. The yield is great, and it produces fairly well in extreme heat, while other varieties totally shut down. The flavor is a bit milder than some, and I have never had a bitter fruit, though I do not over-ripen them. It is fairly firm, somewhere in between the firm asians and the large traditional eggplant. The only drawback was a freak occurance one season when potato beatles attacked them, totally defoliating them, while leaving all other eggplant nearly untouched. Hasn't happened since, however.

Reviewed on 10/22/2004 by Nancy Ross - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Westchester, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Neon would be worth growing for its color alone even if it were not as good tasting as it is. Like all eggplant (grown in my zone) it should be started early and planted out late (June) to withstand flea beetle attack.

Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners is a citizen science program, © 2004-2024, All Rights Reserved
Cornell Garden Based Learning, Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Horticulture Section