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Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
  • Gbognome Nightshade Greens
Gbognome Nightshade Greens

Solanum macrocarpon
$4.50
Description

The description below is borrowed from our friends at Experimental Farm Network, where we got our initial seed stock for experimenting here in Florida. 

Featured in Dr. William Woys Weaver's book 100 Vegetables and Where They Came From, this fascinating plant has rarely been offered for sale or even trade in this country. Originally from Togo, though the species itself is believed to originate in India, Gbognome (pronounced bog-NO-may) produces beautiful green fruits ripening to yellow, which are supposedly edible (if very bitter) when picked and cooked in their green stage, but these are not the prime attraction. Gbognome is grown for its tasty and nutritious young leaves. Dr. Weaver advises cooking the leaves (which develop thorns on the spine once too mature) in water like spinach and reserving the cooking stock as a base for soup. His wonderful book contains a few great recipes for this plant.

We grew these during the really warm spring and summer months in Florida and shared some plants for our friend Tim Noyes who helped with growing these plants to save their seed. They are short little plants maybe 2-3' high so they didn't need any staking. They took a while to get going probably because we started too early- they really need heat! The leaves were quite tasty and unlike other summer greens, not slimy. A nice treat for summer greens. This has become a favorite of farmer Angie Minno down the road from us as well. 
Product details
  • About 30 seeds
  • 70-90 days to harvest
  • Locally saved at the gardens of Tim Noyes and in Working Food gardens at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida
How to grow

Very similar growing practices as eggplants. They love the heat so don't start too early if you live in a climate with cooler weather.

Sow 1/4 deep in pots or trays, preferably on a heat source since this plant will germinate faster and more reliably when temperatures are warm. Space plants 16-24" apart.

Plants are short, only about 2-3' tall and so shouldn't require staking. Fruits are small, round and green, but not the main point of growing this plant. We don't recommend eating the fruits, just let enough grow large enough to save their seeds.

How to save seeds

Eggplants picked for eating rarely have viable seed, and must be left on the plant for much longer, turning a faded dull purple with brown or yellow tinges depending on the variety. They usually firm up a bit too compared to softer fruits picked for eating. Saving from 5-20 plants is best, more always better to increase genetic diversity and plant health. Scoop out the hardened brown seeds, float in water for a few hours, discarding any non-seed material as well as floating seeds which are likely poor quality. Seeds sunk to the bottom are good. Rinse well and dry on a cloth napkin. If you are processing a lot of these for seed, you can dice them up and put into a food processor with a plastic dough blade and pulse a few times with water to release the seeds.

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