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 T T          
      P P              

(Best months for growing Eggplant in Australia - tropical 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 24°C and 32°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 60 - 75 cm 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

03 Jan 15, Roy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hello Jan and Kirsten, Same problem, healthy plants which have grown well, I should have said "I had the same problem" until having taken one of the flowers off and rubbing that one into the stamens of other flowers and voila, fruit. in fact too many.
06 Dec 14, Jan (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Kirsten, did you get any answers to this question, I have the same problem. I purchased a grafted eggplant from Bunnings. same as I did last year but I had an abundance of eggplant last year. This year the flowers form then shrink and fall off. no eggplant behind them. Has anyone got any clues to this problem?
25 Mar 14, Donald Chandraratna (Australia - arid climate)
Can I prune the old plants and wait for the next summer
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?
22 Apr 14, Alpeshkumar Patel (Australia - temperate climate)
Turning yellow means they are now ripe. You can get seeds for next year from them.
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!
26 Nov 14, Greg (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Whitish coating may simply be scale. Lime Sulfur (liquid) will do the job.
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
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?
21 Dec 13, Renate (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My eggplants are brownish colour not dark like the usual colour what is missing?
Showing 141 - 150 of 269 comments

I've got three Asian eggplants growing, all from the same source, one in the ground and the other two in a raised garden bed. They all get equal treatment re fertiliser and watering but the two in the raised bed produce smaller fruit that is a very pale purple and tougher while the other has long much bigger deep purple fruit that's perfect. What could the likely cause be? pH or something else?

- Phil Morton

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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