Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
  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

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28 Mar 13, Rosa (Australia - temperate climate)
Some of my eggplants have started off purple but are now starting to turn yellow. Can someone tell me what is causing this and are they still ok to eat? Thanks
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24 Mar 13, kemal (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
once it stops fruiting do I pull out the plant or do i keep it growing for next Year??
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01 Sep 13, indy (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I just saw your comment today s you've probably made your decision! However, given your climate and that eggplants are perennials in semi-tropical areas, you should get a few years of fruit if you look after your plants
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18 Mar 14, Mary H.R. (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hello! I'm growing eggplants in Western Australia. I live in the Hills above Perth - but it has been an extraordinarily hot dry summer. I've watered my aubergines most days since January. But the plants are quite small - less than 1/2 a metre. We have had round fruit about tennis ball size. I have some good horse poo from a neighbour, and some compost I made myself in one of those black plastic compost boxes. It's pretty good stuff! Any advice would be most welcome. Mary
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11 Mar 13, Lisa (Australia - temperate climate)
My eggplants have been growing strong for a while. The latest batch I have have all been drilled into by some bug/worm thing. There are tiny holes in the fruit and when I cut one open there is brown larvae in there. Any ideas? Also can the plants be left for next season or is it best to rip them up and plant new ones?
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11 Feb 13, Elaine (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My Eggplants are growing good. Keeping my eye some pests and squishing them. But the fruit seems to have a strange growth effect on them. The bases seem to be a green colour and the fruit seems to have like growth spurt makes on them. Can you please tell me why this is happening and what I can do to stop the marks occurring?
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09 Feb 13, jeff (Australia - temperate climate)
what is the best way to stop slatters eating my rockmelons an watermelons .would love some advice
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07 Feb 13, maria carmen wolfenden (Australia - temperate climate)
i planted my eggplants late december , it looks healthy, has lots of flowers but does not fruit. what do i need to do to fix this problem?
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12 Aug 13, Jesse chant (Australia - temperate climate)
This is most probably due to a lack of pollinators (bees etc). Try planting some bee attracting plants. You can hand pollinate in the meantime.
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30 Sep 12, dirk (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a very large eggplant 8 ft tall, , inherited fromprevious owner, dont know how old , do i cut right back or let it go, it has big spikes on it. pl
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Showing 161 - 170 of 274 comments
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I know it's over a year later, but I've been looking for info for overwintering a huge eggplant plant, and saw your question here. Summer '22 I picked up three 5" Japanese eggplant plants from local Tractor supply store, on sale in 3 or 4" pots, for $4 each. I grew them in central MA, each in a 12 or 14" pot all summer. Got some good yield, and they grew to about 18" high, but I decided to bring them inside for the winter to see if I could get more fruit from them. I put them on a south facing bay window, air temp was never much above 68*, I watered, fertilized once (maybe 2x) from October-May, and hand pollinated flowers with a paint brush. Got about 10 fruits, which I thought was pretty good! Nice and tender and sweet. In late May/early June they went outside, (after hardened off properly) planted 1 into 2' tall raised wooden garden box (with tomatoes, potatoes, basil, borage), 1 into a large deep pot, and one in a conditioned straw bale. The pot one failed, the box and straw bale one thrived and are now 3' tall and maybe 2-3' wide. Tons of flowers, fruit, I couldn't keep up. I'm trying to figure out if I can bring one of them inside again (transplant into v. large pot) and get one more summer out of it! So you can probably grow Ichyban Japanese in your zone, just protect from cooler temps, and bring inside if your season isn't long enough.

- TMR

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