Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Eggplants
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Planting
Where to Plant Egglant
For the best results, plant eggplant in a location that gets full sun—at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Eggplants grow best in a well-draining sandy loam or loam soil that is fairly high in organic matter. 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. (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.
Growing Eggplant in Containers
If you’re growing eggplant in pots, use a dark-colored container that will absorb more sunlight. 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.
When to Plant Eggplant
- Start seeds indoors in flats or peat pots 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last spring frost date. Seeds germinate quickly at temperatures between 70° to 90°F (21° to 32°C). Alternatively, buy 6- to 8-week-old nursery transplants just before planting.
- Do not plant eggplant transplants into the garden until well after the last threat of frost.
- If purchasing transplants: Buy high-quality specimens. Do not purchase tall, spindly plants or young plants that already have blossoms (ideally, young plants should spend energy becoming established before they begin flowering).
How to Plant Eggplant
- Start seeds indoors, sowing them ¼ inch deep in flats or peat pots.
- After the risk of the last spring frost has passed and daytime temperatures are 70° to 75°F (60° to 65°F at night), set seedlings in holes 24 to 30 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart. Use a covering of black plastic mulch to warm soils before setting out transplants if soil temperatures aren’t yet high enough.
- Immediately after planting (in-ground or pot), set 24-inch-high stakes 1 to 2 inches from each plant or use cages to provide support and avoid disturbing the soil or roots later. Eggplant will fall over when laden with fruit.
- After planting, water well. Add a layer of mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
- If you live in a cold climate, consider using row covers to keep the young eggplants warm and sheltered. On warm days, open the ends of the row covers so that bees may pollinate the eggplants’ flowers.
The standard eggplant produces egg-shaped, glossy, purple-black fruit.
- ‘Black Beauty’ is the traditional eggplant size. One plant produces 4 to 6 large rounded fruit. Other regular types include ‘Black Magic’, ‘Purple Rain’, and ‘Early Bird’.
- ‘Black Bell’: classic oval to round, 6-inch, purple/black fruit; disease-resistant
- ‘Dusky’: classic pear-shaped, 6- to 7-inch, glossy purple/black fruit; excellent flavor; disease-resistant
Other interesting eggplant varieties include:
- ‘Applegreen’: oval, 5- to 6-inch, tender, pale green fruit
- ‘Bambino’: oval, walnut-size, purple/black fruit; 1 1/2-foot-tall plants
- ‘Casper’: cylindrical, 6-inch, snow-white fruit; mushroom flavor
- ‘Cloud Nine’: teardrop-shaped, 7-inch, white fruit; disease-resistant
- ‘Kermit’: Thai type; round; 2-inch, green fruit with white-striped shoulder
- ‘Rosita’: pear-shaped, 6- to 8-inch, rose-pink fruit; sweet flavor
The long, slender Japanese eggplant has a thinner skin and a more delicate flavor.
- ‘Ichiban’: 10- to 12-inch, slim, purple/black fruit; bears until frost. Expect a dozen or more fruits from one plant.
- ‘Little Fingers’: finger-sized purple/black fruit; good for containers. Small-fruited varieties tend to be especially heavy bearers.
Ornamental varieties are edible but of poor eating quality.
- ‘Easter Egg’ is an ornamental eggplant, usually white in color. (Not edible.)
Harvesting
- Harvest eggplant 65 to 80 days after transplanting, depending on the variety. When starting from seed, expect 100 to 120 days to maturity. July, August, and September (even into October) are all harvest months for eggplant, depending on where you live and the variety you planted.
- Eggplant tastes best when harvested young as soon as it’s dark and glossy purple. Fruits are ripe when their skin doesn’t rebound to gentle pressure from your finger. If you cut into an eggplant and find an abundance of brown seeds, it’s already too late.
- Harvest early and often, and the plant will be quite prolific. Once ready, check on your eggplants every 2 to 3 days.
- Japanese eggplant may be ready to harvest when the size of a finger or hot dog.
- When harvesting, do not pull the fruit (it won’t come off). With a sharp knife, cut through the tough stem above the green cap, or calyx, on the top. The calyx can be prickly, so you will want to wear gloves.
- You can cut these plants back like peppers if your season is long enough for a second crop.
How to Store Eggplant
- Eggplants can be stored for up to 2 weeks in humid conditions no lower than 50°F (10°C).
- In the refrigerator, they will keep for several days.
- Do not wash or cut in advance to avoid damaging the skin, which will quickly perish if exposed.
- To avoid discoloring of eggplant after cutting open for cooking or grilling, use a marinade with salt, vinegar, and/or lemon juice.
Cooking Notes
- Eggplant is excellent grilled, roasted, breaded, fried, or baked! The thinner varieties (‘Ichiban’) are more ideal for grilling and roasting and the traditional varieties (Black Beauty) are great breaded or fried; the round fruit is also good as a “boat” for stuffing.
- Use a stainless steel knife (not steel) to cut eggplant or it will discolor.
- If your eggplant is oversize, the skin may be too tough to eat. Peel before cooking or bake the eggplant and then scoop out the flesh. If you’re baking eggplant, first pierce the skin a few times to allow steam to escape.
- Many Italians will tenderize an eggplant so it’s less bitter. Slice them and sprinkle with salt at least 1 hour before use.
Catherine Boeckmann
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If the leaves are falling off of a plant (almost any plant) then it is dying. At least, it is not thriving. It is not getting something: proper soil, including pH and drainage quality? water? sunlight? and heat (not the same as sunlight)? See above for guidance on these points.
You ask in the headline if something is eating your plants…it doesn’t sound like it. Pests seldom go for leaves; like us, they want the good stuff—the produce.
What do you mean by "pinch out the terminal growth point for the plant to become bushy.
Hi Annette,
By the terminal growth point, we mean the central point on a plant from which new shoots and leaves grow. Look for the newest (and usually smallest) leaves at the center of the plant, and pinch the bud forming there. That action should help the plant to grow multiple stems and to use more energy to grow outwards instead of upwards. We hope this helps!
helo,i have my eggplants(black beauty) ready for transplanting,what recommended spacing can i make when planting in the main garden?,thanks for ur knowlegde.DENISH from Uganda.
Eggplants will do best when planted 2 feet apart within a row, with rows spaced 3 feet apart. Good luck and happy gardening!
My eggplant bush flowers but non have produced eggplant!!!!! What can I do????? Please help!!!!!
Eggplants and their kin (peppers and tomatoes) are quite susceptible to fluctuations in temperature, so if you’ve been having particularly cool nights (below 55°F) or particularly hot days (above 95°F), this could have caused the lack of fruiting. Try covering your plants on cold nights and even setting up a beach umbrella on extremely hot and sunny days. (Don’t use the umbrella for too long, as the plant will not thrive in the shade.) The problem could also be stemming from a lack of water, so if it’s been dry, put down some mulch to hold in moisture. A less likely possibility is a lack of pollination. Have you observed many bees flying around your eggplants? If not, this could be the cause of your fruitlessness. You can pollinate the flowers yourself by simply give the plant a light shake to dislodge and spread the pollen within the flowers.
I recently grew a Japanese eggplant in a college class and was able to take the plant home when the semester was over. It has been a week since the transplant and I have it in a 6 gal container. It doesn't look great-- will it recover or should I just start over? It already had some fruits on it.
Eggplant likes to be toasty warm, so make sure it is getting enough sun. If you are still having cool-ish weather, bring the pot inside at night. Be sure that your soil has a pH of 5.8 to 6.5. Give it moderate amounts of 5–10–10 fertilizer, and provide adequate moisture, watering to a depth of 6 inches as needed.
Hi,
How much soil should I put in each pot?
How much water?and How often?
How much Miracle Grow should you should in pot?
