Two Wests & Elliott's Gardening Guide To Growing Aubergines
Ideally grown in a Greenhouse or Polytunnel, Aubergines are similar in their requirements to tomatoes, chillies or peppers. This makes them a good addition to your greenhouse if you succeed with these other crops.
Selecting The Seeds
Traditional aubergines are pear shaped and have an almost black / very dark purple shiny skin. However, there is a wide variety of Aubergines available, so consider growing a selection.
Aubergine varieties to try include:
Violetta Lunga – long purple fruit
Red Egg – dumpy red fruit
Snowy – cylindrical white fruit
Moneymaker – glossy black fruits
Rosa Bianca – white and pink fruit.
When To Sow
You can start planting Aubergine seeds from late February through to April. To germinate successfully they need to be kept at a constant temperature of at least 21*C, so ideally start them off in a heated propagator. Seeds can be sown in seed trays, pots or plug trays – the only things to remember are to use a seedling compost, to sow the seeds shallowly and to cover with a fine layer of vermiculite.
Seedlings should start to appear after about a week. You need to maintain the temperature until they are about 1” tall and have developed several leaves. They are then ready to transfer into 3” pots filled with multi-purpose compost. To do this successfully you’ll need a dibber and widger. Use the widger to gently loosen the compost from around the roots and gently lift the seedling by one of its’ leaves. Use the dibber to prepare a hole in the centre of the pot and lower the seedling into it until the leaves are just above the surface of the soil.
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For continued growth maintain the temperature at about 18*C. The plants can be left in these 3 inch pots until their roots start to appear at the base of the pots – you can then pot them on into 5 inch pots. Continue in this manner until they have grown big enough to be in 9 inch pots. At this point you need to make the decision as to whether to leave them in pots or transfer into grow bags or into the ground. |
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Where To Sow
Ideally Aubergines like a warm environment, so if you have a greenhouse or polytunnel then grow your plants here all the way through to cropping. Alternatively, you can grow plants outdoors but they will need a warm, sunny spot and will need to be protected against frost using garden fleece or a suitable garden cloche. If you can grow them against a fence or wall this will provide the plants with the extra support that they need as they grow and produce fruit. You’ll need to wait until June before planting outdoors as by then the chance of frosts should be passed and the days will be getting warmer. Plants should be at least 12” or taller when they are planted outdoors, spacing them 20-24” apart.
When growing undercover you have the options of growing them in pots, grow bags or directly into the ground.
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Pots – from their 3” pots aubergines can be grown through until they are large enough to fill 12” / 5 litre pots. Grow Bags - if you plan to use grow bags you should only plant two aubergines per bag. Ground - as aubergines need rich, fertile soil then they can be grown directly into the ground or in raised beds. |
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Where To Sow
To encourage healthy plant growth you need to provide the plants with adequate support as they grow, whilst pinching out the top of the plants when they reach between 12-15” tall, so that they become bushy. Allow just 3 to 4 branches per plant, spacing them out and providing them with support once their fruit begins to form. In your greenhouse or garden you should be maintaining the temperature at between 15-18*C, misting the plants and having buckets of water within the greenhouse to create a humid atmosphere together with providing air circulation by opening louvres, windows or doors.
Looking After Aubergines
Keep to the rule of ‘little and often’ when it comes to feeding and watering your Aubergine plants and you should succeed in getting healthy fruits. If you are growing Aubergines outdoors you can help to keep the ground moist by applying a mulch around the plants – this also has the benefit of keeping weeds down. Extremely thirsty plants, on hot summer days you may need to water them twice a day. Use a general fertiliser to feed the plants until the fruits are formed, and then change to a high potash liquid feed (this could be a tomato feed diluted to half its strength) every 10 days.
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The other important thing to do to encourage good quality fruits is to limit the number of fruits which each plant produces. For the standard Aubergine varieties, limit the number to between 4-5 fruits per plant – this is simply done by removing any new shoots or later flowers.
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As Aubergines can weigh quite heavy, it’s important that you continue to provide plants with adequate support as they grow – otherwise the weight of the fruit could easily break the stem of the plant.
Protecting Your Crops
There are really only three pests to watch out for and each can be dealt with organically:
Greenfly – if you see these pests then you can remove them by hand or blast the plants with water to get rid of them.
Whitefly – these can be kept under control by doing some ‘companion planting’, these can be pots of basil or Tagettes, simply place amongst the Aubergines within your greenhouse.
Red Spider Mite – keep them under control by placing buckets of water around the greenhouse, and or misting the plants – both these also help to maintain a humid atmosphere that Aubergines prefer.
Harvesting
Aubergines should be ready to harvest from the end of July onwards – so around five months after they are planted.
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Depending on the variety, they are ready to pick when they reach 6-8 inch long, are a deep purple colour and have a shiny skin. If you leave the fruits too long the skin will turn dull, affecting the taste so that they become bitter. When harvesting use scissors or a sharp knife – don’t pull or twist the fruit off the plant as this is likely to damage it. |
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Once you reach the end of September the harvesting period should be over. If you still have fruits developing on the plants, cut away the branches containing the fruit and hang upside down in a greenhouse or polytunnel until the fruit matures.
Why Grow Aubergines?
Aubergines are both a healthy and versatile choice when it comes to the kitchen. They have the ability to absorb the flavours of other ingredients, making them ideal for adding to casseroles or stews, as well as being grilled or baked.
Low in calories – just 26 per 100g
Low in fat – only 0.18g per 100g
High water content – 92g per 100g
A good source of fibre and folate
Rich in vitamins A, B, C & K, together with minerals calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.