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

(Best months for growing Eggplant in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

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

September: Bring on in pots - need a long growing season

  • 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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10 Dec 21, Annamarie (USA - Zone 9b climate)
Can I grow eggplant year round in zone 9b? I’m hoping to use cuttings taken from existing plants. Thanks
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04 Feb 22, Donna (USA - Zone 9b climate)
I grow mine in a pot and bring them in for winter. I am not sure about cuttings, but I have had a mature plant produce two years in a row growing it that way. Same for tomatoes. Fun to have fresh
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28 Dec 21, Elisabeth (USA - Zone 7b climate)
YES! I lived in zone 9 in Florida. You can most definitely grow them. Start your seeds indoors in early January and put them out in mid February. They will be producing by April and over it by mid June when your temps start in the 90s. I then always planted okra in June where the eggplants were. They were a nice succession planting in zone 9.
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14 Dec 21, Anonymous (USA - Zone 9b climate)
Probably not, Most crops are seasonal, usually temperature reasons. Very few crops produce all year.
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21 Jun 21, Chris Harrison (Australia - temperate climate)
If you pick eggplant while still green, will they ripen in a warm, sunny spot in the house? I have 3 eggplants on 1 plant that seem to have stopped growing for the last 2 weeks and are not ripening. It's too cold now and they're not getting much sun. Thanks
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29 Jun 21, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Pick when they have reached full size, if you wait too long the seeds develop more.
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20 May 21, Rosaline Thomas (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I would love to know when eggplant /ubergine was first farmed in South Africa?
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02 Nov 20, Aboo (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
What other veggies can you plant with egg plant tks
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03 Nov 20, Anonymous (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Egg plant can grow to 1m wide so you don't want other plants growing close to it. Read the article here for what to grow near egg plant and what not to grow (potatoes).
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16 Oct 20, Wilhelmina Warrington (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I want to know if you can plant Aubergines in pots and what size pot you would need, also if you can freeze them
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Showing 51 - 60 of 358 comments
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I’ve grown several eggplants for the past three years with great fruiting results. Of course as soon as one plant started to look “oldish” I’d cut that one right back (quite heavily) give it a decent fertilizing (liquid if in a pot or granular if in the ground) and it would recover just great. I also gave it a really good soaking watering immediately after or with the fertilizing. I’d do that about every 6 months for each plant (but not at the same time so as to ensure a continual fruit supply). However just recently those plants have had it… Just plain worn out… I suspect a very heavy build up of root knot nematodes and the start of root and stem collapse. I reckon if you can get 2-3 years from an eggplant then that’s more than enough and then call it quits. From my observations you can get up to 3 years happily from a plant growing in the soil and about 2-2.5 years from one growing in a large container. The pruning back also helps a lot in controlling a pest problem like spider mites. I live in a lovely sub-tropical climate on the Gold Coast so the plants continually grow and fruit. The variety I like is the dwarf Lebanese type. I am about to publish an e-book on growing herbs and veggies in small spaces but more about that later Cheers John

- John Bee

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