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 Apr 11, colin shaw (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
thanks so much for your reply liz colin
20 Mar 11, Dianne (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
How do I know when an eggplant is ripe to pick?
05 Mar 11, Aaron (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have a large number of egg plant fruit on the trees, how do you tell when they are ready to harvest ?
05 Mar 11, tuan bui (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi. I am a market gardener in north of adelaide sa, i had been growing egg plant in the glasshouse for years. Not long ago I try to plant in hydroponics for some reason why I got a lot of fruit rot "the fruit look ok but when I see a little crack or solf in the small area of the fruit then I cut it open , the flesh inside turn brown and the fruit is no good at all for the market. thank you, regard tuan bui
12 Feb 11, Cherri East (Australia - temperate climate)
I have small holes in my eggplant and when I crack the egg plant open there is a grub inside that is eating the flesh of the fruit. ?Any ideas on what these may be and how I can get rid of them in an organic way. I have alot of herbs in my garden and do not have a problem with an other type of pest on any other vegetabel, just the egg plant. The eggplant bushes them selves are healthy.
26 Nov 10, Pru (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
RE Chris P, if flowers are dying and falling off, sprinkle a small hand full of epsom salts around the base of the plant, just away from the stem. My grocer told me this trick last year and I had a full crop after applying the epsom salts.
19 Nov 10, chris p (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
my eggplant flowers well but the fruit doesn't develop - the flowers drop off, what is missing?
02 Jun 11, Margaret (Australia - temperate climate)
My plants are large enough and healthy - they get plenty of flowers but no fruit has started. Maybe thye need a bit more sun for this time of year?
01 Oct 10, Carol (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My egg plants and silver beet are getting eaten this has never happened before,can you please tell me what to spray them with,
01 Jun 10, Andrea (Australia - tropical climate)
I've noticed that some people find cooking eggplants a little tricky. The mistake people often make is not to cook them long enough and they taste bitter and unpleasant. I used to cook them mainly in olive oil. But recently I've begun cooking an exclusively indian diet. I have some lovely recipes of eggplant in yoghurt curry (you should be able to find recipes on the web if interested and eat them served with basmati rice and other indian dishes). The point I wanted to make was that in my recipes, I've discovered that one can cook eggplants very well under the griller without oil as the first part of cooking. I believe this approach would transfer to any european style of cooking them as well. Simply cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, place it under the grill element with the skin side up. Cook until the soft and the skin starts to blister. Its about 15 minutes but check. After this you can finish off the cooking by frying it in oil with the rest of your ingredients and it shouldn't require as much oil as if you were cooking it from scratch in the frypan.
Showing 211 - 220 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

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

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.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.