Aubergine Plant – How to grow eggplant

Aubergines are becoming more and more popular to grow here in the UK. They are quite expensive to purchase so if you can grow your own aubergine plants fingers crossed you can save quite a bit of money. Here in the UK they are called aubergines but in other parts of the world, you will find them called egg plant.

To grow aubergine plants you will need somewhere warm to grow them ideally in a greenhouse or in a poly-tunnel where they will get the sun shining on them and the warmth from being indoors.

Allotment and Kitchen Garden Book

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When to sow, plant and harvest Aubergines

Here you can find a guide on when to sow, plant and harvest Aubergines in the UK.

How to sow Aubergines

When sowing aubergines you will need to sow the aubergine seeds somewhere warm. This is because you will be sowing them early in the year and the greenhouse temperature won’t be suitable this time of year. You will need a propagater to help start them off. The aubergine seeds need temperatures of around 20 degrees to germinate. If you still have a cupboard with your boiler in you can put your seed tray in there but you will need to remove them as soon as you see them popping through the soil.

The ideal time to sow your aubergine seeds will be in January time this gives the aubergine plant more time to produce those precious aubergines but you will need the added heat as mentioned above to get these to germinate.

If you struggle to start the aubergine seeds you can usually purchase a plant which has been started from garden center.

To sow aubergine seeds get a seed tray and fill it with compost. Sprinkle the aubergine seeds on the compost. Cover the seeds with another layer of compost then water it finely. You can cover the seed tray with a layer of cling film this will help keep the moisture in and also add that extra warmth that they need for germination.

How to grow your Aubergine plant

When growing your aubergine and before you pot them up for there final destination you need to have somewhere planned for them to grow. The best place to grow these are in a greenhouse or poly tunnel Even though the aubergine plant seeds are more acclimatized for the UK than they were 10 years ago they will still grow better indoors than outside.

When your seeds which you planted at the beginning of the year have outgrown the seed tray they can be transferred to pots that are at least 9cm big. Keep them looked after by watering on a regular basis. When the roots have outgrown the pots you can then transfer them to a pot which is 23cm in size.

You can plant them in the ground outdoors but ideally you should plant them indoors in pots of compost. If you are growing them outdoors plant them at around 60cm distance. Be careful if there is still frost around as the plants will not like this one bit.

Looking after your aubergine plant

To look after your aubergine plant you will need to stake these up and keep tying them up as they get bigger.

When the plant reaches around 35 cm in height you need to pinch the tops of your aubergine plant. This is so that it bushes out and focuses on growing those aubergines – Eggplant.

Aubergine plant require a lot of looking after, you need to make sure that you water them regular also feed them twice a week when the flowers appear. You can feed them with tomato feed. Also as well as feeding and watering them you will need to get a mister to mist them twice a day, this is to prevent spider mite and it also encourages the fruit to set on the flowers.

When you see that 5-6 flowers have set on your aubergine plant remove all the rest of the flowers and any new ones that appear. Let it concentrate on growing these until they are big enough to pick and eat.

How to Harvest Aubergines

Your aubergines will be ready to pick from the aubergine plant when they are around 15cm in size. Make sure they are still shiny when you harvest your aubergines.

Pests and Diseases

There are many pests which can affect aubergines, not necessarily diseases. Here we explain the pests that can affect them and how to prevent them.

Aphids:- You can often see aphids on the aubergine leaves the best way is to squish them with your finger and thumb.

Whitefly:- the best way to prevent these is to have some fly traps up in your polytunnel or greenhouse. These are usually sticky sheets.

Red Spiders:- These usually occur with humidity. These can be prevented by spraying or misting your plants down twice a day.

Purchase Aubergine Plant

Here you can purchase Aubergine Seeds to grow an Aubergine Plant. Click the Amazon link below which will take you to purchase some:-

You can find out lots more tips and advice on growing fruit and vegetables here