I transplanted an eggplant today into my gravel bed. It immediately collapsed, folded in half and wilted so that it looked absolutely pitiful.  I chalked that up to an "experiment" and went on about my day.

Within 45 minutes, I went back out into the backyard and to my surprise the eggplant the was completely upright with no signs of wilting. I'm still skeptical, but for now at least the eggplant has come back from the brink.