Growing Aubergines (egg plant)

Richard Bailey, Wallington, Surrey

You often read in books and seed catalogues that growing aubergines is as simple as growing tomatoes. And that if you can grow tomatoes out of doors you can grow aubergines without protection too. In my experience this is wrong!

Although tomatoes and aubergines are closely related, both are in the same family (the Solanaceae, which includes the potato, sweet pepper, petunia and deadly nightshade), aubergines require significantly warmer conditions than tomatoes. If you do try to grow them out of doors you will need, even in the south, a sheltered position and some form of protection to get them off to a good start. Not only do aubergines need higher temperatures they also need protection from wind. And while tomatoes will happily ripen four to six trusses of fruit outside you need to limit the number of fruits on an aubergine.

I grow my aubergines in an unheated greenhouse. Nonetheless, I do see them fruiting outside on allotments in central London. But there they are at a lower altitude, almost at sea level, and will benefit from the "heat island effect" - the effect, that is, of any large mass of centrally heated buildings, people and motor vehicles. This can raise the average temperature in a large town by 2 or 3 °F above its surroundings.

In a cold greenhouse I can take three, occasionally four, fruits from the large fruited cultivars. Outside, even in central London, you are more likely to get one or two - in a hot summer. And outdoor fruits will be smaller. For the small fruited cultivars it might be six inside and three out of doors.

Nonetheless it is always worth putting any spare plants outside. The large purple flowers are very attractive and the foliage can also make a noticeable feature. Even if they do not yield many fruits aubergines are decorative enough to justify a place in the mixed border.

A timetable for growing aubergines in a cold greenhouse (or outside).

This timetable is based on growing in the southern half of Britain - and should be adjusted for more northern parts.

So, what else is there to say?

Quite a lot! First, sowing the seeds. I use my own mixture comprising equal parts of garden soil, sand and sifted leaf mould or sifted compost. I sow the seeds on the surface, cover them with as little compost as possible and water the pot from below.

This gives enough water to ensure germination and I do not water again until the seedlings are well through. The mixture contains ample nutrients not only for germination but also for growing the seedlings on to the four leaf stage. If you do not make up your own mixture the appropriate John Innes formulations are perfectly acceptable - if you have a reliable source. I, myself, tend to avoid soil-less composts because they are so difficult to re-wet if you inadvertently let them dry out. And who does not do that now and again?

Second, feeding the growing plants. The mixture I use for potting on is the same as for seed sowing. Once the plants are in their final pots there is sufficient nourishment to last them through until the second or third fruit is set.

At that stage I use a high potash feed (any feed suitable for tomatoes, roses or chrysanthemums will do, or try comfrey liquid) at one quarter the recommended strength - but applied at four times the recommended frequency. I used to apply at half strength twice as often as recommended but "changed down" this year and have found the change successful. I am a great believer in the little and often principle - plants are like babies!

And third in the list of things to do - pinch out the top of the plant when it is about 18 inches (45 cm) high to encourage it to bush out. But once you have three or four fruits set remove additional side shoots as they develop.

Pests and diseases of Aubergines (Egg Plant)

Aphids (green fly), whitefly and red spider mite can all present problems and irregular watering may initiate blossom end rot. Standard preventative measures and remedies can be applied. I always remove the petals that frequently stick to the developing fruits as these are often attacked by Botrytis which can then spread to the fruits and foliage. Nonetheless aubergines, are essentially trouble free plants.

It is not generally appreciated that the aubergine, although always grown as an annual in Europe, is actually a perennial shrub. The wild plants, that grow on hot dry hills, are often spiny with very bitter, yellow fruits.

A native of the Indian subcontinent aubergines have been cultivated in Asia for many centuries. Records of their cultivation in China go back to the 5th Century B.C. and they were undoubtedly cultivated in India and south east Asia earlier still. They were introduced to Europe by the Moorish conquerors of Spain and were probably cultivated by the Arabs in the 4th Century A.D., but they did not become widespread in Europe until thel 6th Century.

Like the tomato and runner bean, aubergines were first grown in Europe, not as vegetables, but as decorative plants. The first cultivars to be grown in England probably had round or oval fruits, cream or white in colour- giving the plant its common name, "egg plant".

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