Start seeds indoors in flats or peat pots 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last spring frost date.
#FERTILIZING VEGETABLE SEEDLINGS FULL#
Put one plant per 5-gallon (or larger) pot in full sun and outdoors so it can be pollinated. Use a premium potting mix to avoid disease. Raised beds, which warm more quickly than ground soil, are also ideal for growing eggplant. If you’re growing eggplant in pots, use a dark-colored container that will absorb more sunlight.
(Apply 2 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet. Or, apply 1¼ pounds of 5-10-5 per 10 feet of row when the row spacing is 4 feet.) Soil pH should be between 5.8 and 6.5 for best growth. To improve soil fertility, mix 1 inch of well-rotted manure, compost, or a general fertilizer such as 5-10-5 throughout the planting bed about a week before planting. Plant eggplant in a location that gets full sun-at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day-for the best results.Įggplant grows best in a well-drained sandy loam or loam soil that is fairly high in organic matter. Their size and shape vary as well, ranging from the large, gourd-shaped eggplants you’ll commonly find in stores to the more exotic slender Japanese eggplant. Though eggplant fruits are usually a beautiful dark purple color, they can also be white, pink, green, black, or variegated purple-white. In fact, there are quite a few ornamental eggplant varieties available today, whose inedible fruit have attractive variegated patterns. Eggplants are also great for containers and make lovely ornamental borders. Raised beds enriched with composted manure are an ideal growing place for eggplants because the soil warms more quickly. Like tomatoes and peppers, eggplants develop and hang from the branches of a plant that can grow several feet in height.īecause they need warm soil, eggplants are usually purchased as 6- to 8-week-old transplants (or started indoors about two months in advance) to get a head start. They grow fastest when temperatures are between 70° and 85☏ (21° and 30☌)-and very slowly during cooler weather. Given their tropical and subtropical heritage, eggplants do require relatively high temperatures, similar to tomatoes and peppers (which, like eggplants, are in the Nightshade family). See more about growing and harvesting eggplant-one of our favorites on the grill! About EggplantsĮggplants (Solanum melongena) grow wild in South Asia as a perennial plant, but these warm-season vegetables are treated by most North American gardeners as annuals. When cooked, it becomes extremely tender and absorbs flavors around it. Eggplant (also called aubergine and brinjal in some countries) is a purple vegetable packed with nutrition.
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