Once grown, you’ll enjoy tender fruit with delicious flavours perfect for grilling, stuffing and roasting.
Unlike some crops, you should use aubergines as soon as you can after you pick them.
And perhaps, when your neighbours have a glut of courgettes, you can show off your beautiful glossy aubergines!
There are many different varieties of aubergine across the world, in various shapes and sizes.
The most recognisable are the dark purple, elongated aubergines.
But there are also striped ‘Zebra’ aubergines, green aubergines, white aubergines, globes and long, thin varieties.
You may find that a smaller variety does better outdoors in the UK
Aubergines like a fairly constant temperature of 20°C.
This means they are best suited to growing in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
However, they’re related to tomatoes and peppers, so if you have grown either of these successfully outdoors, you may find you do well with aubergines, too.
Most grow bags are suitable for two aubergine plants. These will need to be placed in full sun.
Planting instructions: loosen the compost before you start – shake the grow bag and knead out any solid lumps. Cut out as per the instructions and water well. Make a hole for both plants and carefully place them in the grow bag.
Pots are a good choice if you’re limited for space or want the option of moving the plants.
Your pot should be at least 30cm wide.
Fill with good quality multi-purpose compost and make a hole for a single aubergine in the centre of the pot.
The ground will need to be warm, well-drained, moist and enriched with compost or other organic matter.
Plants should be planted with at least 60cm of space between them.
We recommend applying a mulch over the soil to lock moisture in and prevent weeds springing up and taking the nutrients from the soil.
Don’t let your courgettes dry out, particularly if they are in containers or grow bags.
This can lead to the plant bearing no fruit.
Courgettes like moist soil so make sure you water regularly, especially in hot, dry spells of weather.
However, there is a balance to be had as overwatering can lead to powdery mildew.
Unlike tomatoes, aubergines do not have to be pinched out.
However, the plant can benefit if you do pinch out side shoots, as energy will be conserved for the main shoots and producing stronger fruit.
Use a high potassium liquid fertiliser every two weeks after the first flowers have appeared.
A general tomato feed is ideal.
To grow aubergines from seed:
Pot on as the plants get bigger; you may need to do this a couple of times prior to transferring to their final location/container.
Plant out when the night time temperature is warmer than 10°C.
Red spider mites, greenfly and whitefly need to be kept under control, especially when you’re growing aubergines in a greenhouse.
Spray with a chemical-free repellent or remove by hand if you prefer.
Blossom end rot starts as a dark, sunken patch on the base of the fruit – and is often caused by inconsistent watering.
Keep the compost evenly moist, don’t overwater but avoid letting the compost dry out.
Depending on weather conditions and planting time, aubergines should be ready to harvest in August.
Many varieties have a glossy skin when they are ready to harvest.
Pick regularly to encourage new fruit to ripen.
Need more advice?
If you’re still unsure or need any advice, our friendly teams will be happy to chat with you and suggest which varieties would be best for you to plant, as well as when and where to plant them.
We hope you enjoy planting your aubergines– but more importantly, enjoy eating them!
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