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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02 Mar 12, Amboise (Australia - temperate climate)
Have plenty of fruit on my lebanese eggplant bush but after the first deep purple fruit, all are now a dirty yellow colour. Is this because of too much rain or is there another reason ?
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27 Apr 13, Janelle (Australia - temperate climate)
I have had the same thing happen, I can only think it is some inconsistancy with temp or rains. It affected some and not others and I think for memory it wasnt all the fruit on the plant, only some.
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28 Feb 12, Erin (Australia - temperate climate)
How do i know when my eggplant is ripe? - i have a couple of bushes that are producing fruit however when they start they are glossy black then seem to lose thier colour, i have harvested a couple and theya re still a little green on the inside - this seems oppocite from what i have seen in the supermarket.
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23 Feb 12, Savithri (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, After so many attempts, I managed to grow eggplant(Lebanese) this year and was rewarded with quite a good crop. My problem is, the skins get eaten by some kind of pest and they look awful. Would anyone know what it could be? Thanks in advance - Savithri
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19 Mar 12, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Look for snails
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25 Mar 12, Savithri (Australia - temperate climate)
thanks for the reply.....I didn't find any snails around but recently I noticed brown insect(Garden Weevils???) eating everything in my garden. They are attacking the leaves/stems and the young shoots of all the plants. How do you get rid of Garden Weevils? Thank you.
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22 Feb 12, Terry (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My eggplant has many fruit of varying size but I need to know when they are ripe as all are the same dark colour
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21 Feb 12, Andrew (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
My eggplant growing well but not turning fully black and are a yellow brown colour at base of eggplant is there something that can be done about this
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12 Feb 12, Rob Brown (Australia - tropical climate)
I've planted my eggplants out to my aquaponics system 5 weeks ago (just after christmas), all had flowered within 2 weeks and at week 3 they have fruit about 5cm long, I planted both redskin and normal shop variety.
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10 Feb 12, yvonne cardy (Australia - tropical climate)
I have a 'yellow' eggplant, round in shape and a bright colour. My neighbour gave me the seedling but I can't find anything on yellow eggplant. Can you help?
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Showing 181 - 190 of 274 comments
See comments for all plants

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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