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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19 Aug 20, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Eggplants need plenty of water. Perhaps yours are drying out too quickly in your raised beds.
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02 Sep 20, em (Australia - temperate climate)
I found that my eggplants needed a lot of water and they really appreciated a good mulch (I mostly just mulched with grass clippings) and they grew until the end of autumn.
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15 Aug 20, Preethi Balamurugan (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi i live in Melbourne im growing my eggplant seedlings indoor i have got the fungoes gnat so i have move my seedlings outsides in alfersco now my seedlings leaves are curlying Up Is it normal? Can I keep my seedlings in alfresco? Thanks in advance
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17 Aug 20, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
i read that fungus gnat are mainly on indoor plants. Once seeds have germinated I find it best to put them out in the sun a bit. Some sun, some shade during the day. The amount of each will depend on how hot or cold it is during the day. Google fungus gnats and read the article about them on The Farmers Almanac
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12 Aug 20, vannezza (Australia - temperate climate)
from flowers it will become fruit in two to three weeks time depending the temperature. the hotter the area the more it quickly become fruit.
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17 May 20, Alenka Bosnic (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi it's mid May do I pull out my eggplants or can I prune them back and get them ready for Spring Summer.
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18 May 20, Paul Lehmann (Australia - arid climate)
If you don't get any frosts you can leave them in the ground/pot but give them a prune back to half their size. If you have frosts you can cover them if you really like them or pull them out and plant a green manure crop to put energy back into the soil. Eggplants are hungry plants!
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23 Apr 20, joanne priscilla Threlfo (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted the store bought punnett of one eggplant a bit late in January now about 2 ft high, I have one eggplant on it that hasn't grown more than 5 inches in weeks and lots of flowers - maybe lack of water and nutrient? . Do I need to prune excess leaves to promote fruit growth? and I notices a few new fruit coming on just today
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24 Apr 20, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Eggplant is generally a summer grown veg, like plant in the spring to early summer. I bought seedlings of little fingers from Bunnings about mid Feb. They are about 3' high now and I have been picking them the last 10 days, had them on toast for brecky this morning. Make sure your soil is fertile and a good watering each 2 days. A nice sunny spot also. I have some of the same seedlings in gardens 10klm away and they have not produced eatable fruit yet, I fertilised them this morning to give them a kick along.
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18 Apr 20, Pastor Dennis Naidoo (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
HI Guys Need some help on my black beauty egg plant. I have planted my egg plant about three months ago and there is no fruit appearing. The leaves are turning yellow and also there is something eating up the leaves. Any help will be appreciated. I;m based in KZN Richards Bay. God BLESS
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Showing 71 - 80 of 358 comments
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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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