Note: Ingesting the leaves, flowers ... perfect for grilled eggplant steaks or eggplant parmesan. Plants grow to 2 feet tall, and the fruit begins to ripen about 74 days after transplanting.

Companion plant eggplant with the following flowers ... but this pretty pollinator plant boasts periwinkle blue flowers and leaves that taste a bit like cucumber. When planted near your eggplants ...

Spoon the remaining sauce over the eggplant, top with the grated parmesan and basil leaves and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot. •Choose young, firm, in season eggplants, ideally there shouldn’t ...