'Tonda di Manfredonia' Eggplant

Solanum melongena

Origin: Manfredonia, Foggia, Apulia, Italy

Improvement status: Cultivar

Seeds per packet: ~35

Germination tested 12/2023: 96%

Life cycle: Annual

EFN INTRODUCTION. We're excited to be offering this Italian heirloom eggplant for the first time in the US (as far as we know). 'Tonda di Manfredonia' produces bottom-heavy fist-sized round-to-ovoid purple fruits great for eggplant parmesan, eggplant rollatini, or any other eggplant dish you enjoy. We got our stock seeds from the USDA's National Plant Germplasm System which has maintained this variety since it was donated by the University of Bologna in 1980. Based on its name, we assume this heirloom hails from Manfredonia, a town in Puglia at the base of the "spur" in southeastern Italy. Plants are spineless and the pretty flowers are violet-colored.

Our seed was grown by our dear friends Mud Forte and Harry Matthews in Sicklerville, NJ.

GROWING TIPS: Grow as any other eggplant, starting indoors a few weeks before last frost for maximum production.