Cordon Aubergine Growing

[wellie]

Today on Radio 2, I heard that people should be questioning themselves as to whether the fact that they keep forgetting things is just TOGism or the onset of dementia.... well a couple of days ago, I wanted to post a new thread. I knew I did. But could I remember what it was about? Could I hell....!

So, now that I've remembered, I was wondering if any of you more experienced Aubergine Growers out there have ever grown your Aubergine plants on a 'Cordon' system like we all generally do with Cordon Tomato varieties? And if so, was it a success? Did they produce fewer but better fruits, etc.

I am wanting to try it this year, and would be grateful for any advice you may have to give me.
Thank you.
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[crichmond]

Unless you already have the plants growing then you are a bit late for this year, I havent tried it so dont know if it would work but I would have thought that even if succesful the crop would be reduced as a lot of the flowers form on the parts of the bush that you would be removing, mine have about 8 fruits on each plant at the moment with more flowers forming all the time. Around half of the fruit and flowers already on the plants are on the bits that would be removed if training as a cordon.
I assume that you want to cordon so as to save space seeing as they can get quite big, mine are currently about 4 foot high and 2.5 to 3 foot across so my 5 plants take up one side of the greenhouse.

[Alison]

I've always thought that an aubergine was more of a bush so don't quite get the idea but if anybody has done it successfully then I'd be interested in seeing piccies.

[wellie]

No, my question was purely in the 'Have you Done This, and How Did It Go?' train of question............I'm not into anything as clever as trying to save space or anything, because I don't need to. I just fancied trying it out, as opposed to doing the Aubergine growing in the 'normal way' in order to find out if, as they say you can: grow it on a cordon system.

I shall try it anyway, because I like to push the boundaries.

When a somebody in a book says that you CAN grow it that way, I'm wanting to know WHY and HOW. And I'm 'game enough to try'. Shall I keep the result a secret then?
Or would you like to know?!
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[Alice]

Interesting question Wellie. I'm still trying with aubergines. This year is my last shot if not successful.
I'm growing Baby Belle, which just do little ones - hopefully. To date the plants look great and just starting to flower. But they're like bushes - nothing there that could be cordoned.
Chrichmond - any chance of a pic. I'd be bowled over to see an aubergine like that.

[wellie]

Alice, you're a girl after my own heart....

I grew a baby aubergine variety last year too, but sadly, I was not particularly successful at it, or any other Aubergine-growing, sadly, and sent my very best specimen to my friend Hazel at The Hill..... Mmmm....

So, with the Aubergine Cordon Diary 'ticking' now.... today, I pinched out two 'armpits', as I like to call them (stems growing within the - oh never mind.......!.)
and whether it proves to be a popular, alternative, wacky, or downright stupid method of growing..... See Wellie give a flying fig...... I will by the end of it have learned something - which is what I intend to do.
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[wellie]

And, actually, I've given it a lot of thought today, and I think it's starting to make sense (in my head, at least)..... you see, if you didn't pinch the 'armpits' from a Tomato plant, it would end up very unruly indeed, and the fruits would be extremely abundant, but inferior. Hence the reason for growing it on a Cordon fashion. Restrict its' growth, and it will concentrate its' energies into producing fewer but better quality fruits. (but please don't side-track me now by talking about Bush Tomatoes, because it's irrelevant here....)

Think about how you grow your Aubergine plant normally. You grow it as a Bush. You let it branch out 'all over the shop' and then RESTRICT it by thinning the number of developing fruits, in order to concentrate its' energy. You end up with a forest of foliage, taking up a lot of space for no productive reason. Completely BARKING, in my humble opinion (she says, sounding as if she knows what she's talking about!)

I WAS going to do one of my plants as a Cordon, and the other as a Bush.
Now I'm going to do both as Cordons, and I'll let you know later in the year if I've been a complete Plonker.

Alice - I do honestly believe that the Baby Aubergines you're growing (which I will be trying again without fail next year) are definitely supposed to be grown as a Bush.
And I'm crossing my fingers and toes for you that you have a great harvest this year with them.
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