Aubergine Listada de Gandia is a Spanish heirloom that's going to get noticed! The oval fruits grow to around 15cm long with creamy-white streaks splashed across glossy purple skin. Fortunately they taste as good as they look, with thin skins and sweet, tender flesh. This is an early-ripening, compact variety too, growing to around 60cm, making it a particularly good choice for pots and smaller growing spaces.
Sow: from February to April indoors, ideally in a propagator or somewhere else reliably warm. Sow about 5mm deep and keep at around 21°C or above until germinated. Pot seedlings on individually once they're large enough to handle and keep them somewhere warm and bright while they grow.
Grow: plant in a greenhouse or conservatory, or into a large pot in a sunny, sheltered spot after all danger of frost has passed. Listada de Gandia is compact, reaching around 60cm, but give the plants some support as the fruits develop. Pinch out the main growing tip at around 40–45cm to encourage bushier growth. Keep well watered and, once fruits begin to form, feed every couple of weeks with a tomato feed. Pick regularly while the fruits are glossy to encourage more to develop.
Enjoy: the thin skin and sweet, tender flesh need no peeling, so slice and cook skin and all. Grill, griddle or add to ratatouille, but we particularly like them baked or roasted, not least because aubergines do have a remarkable ability to drink up oil when they're fried!
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