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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13 Sep 18, Mike (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Google about flowers dropping off egg plants.
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03 Feb 18, Daisy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi Diana, I have never grown eggplant but perhaps the plant that you have is a male one? I don't really know whether this is even possible. Also, it could be that you need to pollinate the flowers by hand? I hope this helps! xx D
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05 Feb 18, Kristin (USA - Zone 11a climate)
Why someone would suggest maybe yours is a male plant and saying "hope this helps" is hilarious. Eggplants do not need separate male and female plants. A quick google search can tell you that. Several reasons your flowers are dropping - lack of pollination or the plant is under stress being - 1) too cold or hot 2)lack of water or nutrients. Try hand pollinating your flowers and lookup the temperature your variety of eggplant will set fruit. I looked up the temperature for Tutukaka coast and the temperature seems too cold for eggplant. I could be wrong. But you will need find out what variety you have first.
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20 Jan 18, Alison (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I have eggplants in a tunnel house. The plants look amazing and are flowering like crazy and look to be pollinating but then drop off before fruit develops. They are getting plenty of water and tomatoes in the same greenhouse are fruiting happily. What am I dong wrong?
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14 Jan 18, Paula Mouat (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I am growing eggplant for the first time in a glasshouse. My plant is growing very well with lots of fruit. The fruit are large and pale. How long should I wait before harvesting?
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02 Jan 18, (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Hi, is it worth trying to grow aubergines in Dunedin?
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14 Mar 18, Liz (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I have successfully grown an eggplant in Dunedin in a tunnel house. I have just picked my 10th, and there are 5 more coming
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04 Feb 18, Heather (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I have grown the smaller variety in a glass house with plenty of TLC. They don't survive outside as the temperature fluctuates too much and we can get cold spells during the growing season.
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15 Nov 17, Ian Gall (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
I, m growing my egg plant in a tunnel house, the leaves are turning black? What to do?
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21 Nov 17, rachel (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
it's most likely a fungus, you need to spray with something like organic copper
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Showing 11 - 20 of 33 comments
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A quick tip for those trying to grow eggplant in a cool climate with a short growing season - rather than waiting for the end of Spring frost (usually November here), you really should be getting eggplants in the ground by October at the latest. They need a long growing season to produce abundant fruit and the warm weather months in these climates are limited. They take a long time to raise from seed, so are best purchased at nurseries etc. at this time of year. To protect them from Spring frosts one trick is to cut off the top halves of plastic softdrink or mineral water bottles, remove the lid for ventilation, and securely place the top half in the circle of soil surrounding the young seedling. In the event of late frost, this will improve their chances of survival. If growing in containers, moving them to a sheltered, part-sun location (eg. under the dappled shade of a tree) may also help protect them from late frosts. The same can be done for other frost sensitive crops in the nightshade family eg. tomatoes, chillies, capsicum. Happy gardening, P.

- Prometheus

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