Aubergines

Aubergines also known as eggplants are becoming a more and more popular vegetable to grow. The aubergine fruits are very pretty and unlike aubergines you will ever find in a supermarket, you will find that aubergines come in a range of different shapes, sizes and colours. If you are like me and grow vegetables in the UK, then aubergines prefer a greenhouse, tunnel or a very sheltered garden to grow. To grow aubergines here in the UK you definitely need warmth and sunshine to get a successful crop.

You need to sow the seed very early in the year around February if you are planting them out in a greenhouse, tunnel or cold frame, so having a plant propagator is very useful. Sow the seeds in good quality compost, either sow them in pots or modules. You can germinate seeds in the airing cupboard, if you do…then I would recommend that you check these daily. And once they are properly up you will need to move them into more light. If you are growing the aubergines in a warm secluded garden then I would sow them in early March, alternatively you can just buy a plant in March from your garden centre.

One these seedlings have 4 leaves you can transplant them into 3” pots, once the aubergine plant has established in these pots, you will re-pot them into 5” pots, after that you can either transfer them into the area you are going to be growing them in – greenhouse, tunnel or cold frame or into a large pot to grow outside. If growing them outside grow them against a warm, sunny and sheltered spot.

You may need to stake the aubergine plants as they can sway about. Some people remove the growing tip at 30cm.

You need to water the aubergines on a regular basis, once the plant is fruiting you need to feed them with a high potassium liquid fertiliser every two weeks. To get the fruit to set, it’s important to mist the foliage, preferable twice a day.

If you want large fruits then once you have 6 flowers set, then you will need to remove any other flowers. If you don’t mind smaller aubergines then you can leave up to 10.

From August the fruits will be ready to cut especially if you started the seeds early, when they are around 15cm, but again you can pick them earlier if you don’t mind eating smaller once.

Tip: Try growing small-fruited aubergine varieties also known as compact varieties, these often don’t take as long to produce fruits, these types of aubergines depending on variety can produce slender fruits or just small stumpy fruits. They taste the same, but they often produce quicker.