Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	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

19 Oct 20, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): When frozen they tend to go bitter
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19 Oct 20, Anonymous (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): The bigger the better, 50-60cm+ diameter. Google about freezing it - I wouldn't think so..
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20 Sep 20, John W Taylor (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): I left my eggplant in the ground over winter in Auckland. It really doesn't get that cold up here even in winter. The leaves dropped off and the stalks are still green in mid Sept. I trimmed the dead wood back. Will it come back?
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27 Aug 20, Srini K (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Hi, I have sown seeds in seed trays and its been 20 days, no sign of any seedlings. Understand its still cold in Auckland, Just wanted to check if the seeds will germinate once its get warm or I should considers sowing seeds again when its gets warm?
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28 Aug 20, Anonymous (New Zealand - temperate climate): You need soil temperature of min of 15c and preferably 25-30c to germinate egg plant. The guide recommends planting seeds Sept Oct. Also if you over water the seeds they go rotten. Seeds should germinate in 12-18 days. Have a little dig around and see if they are ok or rotten. I would suggest planting mid Sept at the earliest. Or buy seedlings.
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02 Sep 20, Srini K (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Thanks for your response. The guide for sub-tropical climate suggests to plant in Aug, Sep. Great news all seeds germinated in approximately 22 days :) Cant wait to plant these outside.
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24 Aug 20, Kylie (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hello, Can different varieties of eggplant be planted together? Also how long do eggplant plants last? I am located in Tamborine Mountain in QLD. TIA
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25 Aug 20, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Should be no problem. They are self pollinating although if bees cross pollinate them you may end up with different eggplant. If you are going to plant a few I would keep the rows apart if possible. They are perennial but most people treat them as annual, reason pest and diseases.
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19 Aug 20, Verna Arts (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): For the last 2 seasons I have planted Eggplant plants in raised beds in my garden north of Auckland. Both years The plants have immediately flowered and produced small fruit but neither the plant or the fruit have grown from then on What am I doing wrong? The raised beds are filled with garden mix and I use a fairly generous amount of fertilizer.
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20 Aug 20, Anonymous (Australia - cool/mountain climate): The guide here says plant Sept Oct. They are a warm weather crop. You probably need 5-600mm deep soil and the same in width. Good rich soil, deep water 2-3 times a week and give a hit of fert after your first 2-3 weeks of picking. Don't go over board on the fertiliser though.
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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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Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Your comments and tips

GardenGrow

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

Growing Eggplant, also Aubergine

Solanum sp. : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Your comments and tips

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