Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Feb	Mar	May
S	S
		T
		P

(Best months for growing Eggplant in USA - Zone 5a regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays
T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
P = Sow seed

Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. (Show °C/cm)
Space plants: 24 - 30 inches apart
Harvest in 12-15 weeks. Cut fruit with scissors or sharp knife.
Compatible with (can grow beside): Beans, capsicum, lettuce, amaranth, thyme
Avoid growing close to: Potatoes

Your comments and tips

15 Mar 14, Phil (Australia - temperate climate): Have picked 2 eggplants from my bushes once they turned purple but the remainder of the fruit have turned yellow and seem to be softening. Is this normal?
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22 Apr 14, Alpeshkumar Patel (Australia - temperate climate): Turning yellow means they are now ripe. You can get seeds for next year from them.
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13 Mar 14, Shannon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): My eggplants have a whitish coating over all the stems, that can be scraped off with a fingernail. The top leaves are curling and dying. Does anyone know what this could be? There are no insects on the plants. Thank you!
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26 Nov 14, Greg (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Whitish coating may simply be scale. Lime Sulfur (liquid) will do the job.
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04 Mar 14, Parm (Australia - temperate climate): I plant eggplant late December. My eggplant got flower but not fruit. I see some bees and butterfly in my garden but still I try to do hand pollination. Mostly I use to water every day or other. I live in albany wa
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22 Jan 14, Kezia (Australia - temperate climate): I planted an eggplant last year 2013 July. It has produced quite a lot of fruits since November, but what will happen to the plant from February onwards? The chart on this website about eggplant showing blank (no S or T sign) from February to July?
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21 Dec 13, Renate (Australia - sub-tropical climate): My eggplants are brownish colour not dark like the usual colour what is missing?
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28 Oct 13, Jim Petterson (USA - Zone 7a climate): Is egplant perennial in zone 7a Charlotte NC
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13 Nov 20, CAD (USA - Zone 10b climate): Jim, if grown outdoors, eggplants are annuals in North Carolina. NC gets some tropical-feeling summer weather, but the winter frost and snow would keep eggplant from being a perennial in that climate. It's an annual here in zone 10b too!
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12 Aug 13, bob westport (Australia - cool/mountain climate): how long a life has an egg plant got or is it just an annual plant
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I have two Asian eggplant bushes which look like they are coming to an end in terms of producing fruit. Is there any chance I could prune these back and see if they regrow next spring? Also, what to do about the nasty grubs that get in and make tunnels, along with lots of black stuff. Sometimes you don't even know they are there till you cut the eggplant open.

- Heidi

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Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Your comments and tips

Gardenate

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Your comments and tips

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