How to Grow Aubergines UK: Sowing, Heat & Harvest

On this page
  1. Aubergine (Solanum melongena)
  2. Watch: Growing Aubergines at Home
  3. Regional Planting Calendar
  4. Quick Facts
  5. At a Glance
  6. Soil & Growing Conditions
  7. Growth Stages
  8. Harvest & Storage
  9. Diseases
  10. Pests
  11. Nutrient Issues
  12. Companion Planting
  13. Pollination
  14. Recommended Varieties
  15. Recommended Tools & Supplies
  16. What Aubergine Looks Like Through the Season
  17. Plan your Aubergines planting
  18. Growing Aubergine in another region
  19. References
  20. Frequently Asked Questions

In the UK, aubergines are sown early February to late March, and planted out early May to late May.

Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: there are 4 separate regional planting out windows, ranging from early May in Southern England to mid May in Scotland.

The short answer

Sow
Early February to late March
Plant out
Early May to late May
Site
6+ hours of sun, soil pH 6–6.5
Biggest risk
Verticillium wilt

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Aubergine (Solanum melongena)

A single glossy dark aubergine fruit ripening among green foliage and marigolds. Photo: Kolforn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

10 sources cited · Verified

Watch: Growing Aubergines at Home

A quick SoilCommander video on growing aubergines at home in UK conditions — sowing, spacing, care and harvest in under a minute.

🍆 Did you know? Aubergines are botanically berries, and closer relatives of tomatoes and potatoes than of any fruit -- despite the name.

Regional Planting Calendar

Region Sow Plant out
Southern England early February to late March early May to late May
Midlands derived early February to late March early May to early June
Northern England early February to late March mid May to mid June
Scotland early February to late March mid May to mid June

Rows marked derived are interpolated between regions our sources do state, because no source we consulted gives a figure for that region specifically. They are deliberately wider to reflect that uncertainty.

Southern England - detail & sources

RHS: sow indoors from February onwards (as early as January for heated greenhouses), needing at least 21°C to germinate. Grow on and plant into final positions: April for heated greenhouse, early May for unheated greenhouse, late May/early June outdoors after the last frost. Southern England has the UK's earliest last-frost date per Met Office, so the earlier end of the outdoor planting-out window applies here.

Midlands - detail & sources

DERIVED: interpolated a week later than southern England and a week earlier than northern England for outdoor planting-out, following RHS's April-June growing-method timing and the Met Office's documented south-to-north frost gradient.

Northern England - detail & sources

RHS: plant into final positions late May/early June outdoors after the last frost (April/early May under glass). Met Office notes the average last air frost extends later further north, so outdoor planting-out is pushed later here than in southern England.

Scotland - detail & sources

RHS: plant into final positions late May/early June outdoors after the last frost (April/early May under glass). Scotland gets the latest outdoor planting-out window in the UK per Met Office's documented later spring frost risk further north -- most Scottish growers will rely on an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel rather than fully outdoor planting.

A page from the UK Vegetable Garden Planner PDF: the crop rotation planner, with a planning grid and four-bed rotation tips

Plan your aubergines — and the rest of the plot

This page covers aubergines. For every crop's sowing months on one chart, use the free UK vegetable planting calendar, and browse the UK vegetable growing guides for what else to grow alongside it. When you want the whole season on paper, the UK Vegetable Garden Planner is a printable PDF:

  • Twelve month-by-month sowing and harvest spreads
  • Raised bed, allotment and container layout pages for your own plot
  • A four-year crop rotation planner
  • Seed inventory, sowing log and harvest tracker
See inside the UK Vegetable Garden Planner →

80 printable pages · instant PDF download · reprint every season

Quick Facts

Factor Value
Soil pH 6 - 6.5
Sunlight 6-6 hours direct sun
Germination temp 21°C
Optimal growing temp 20-35°C
Minimum survivable temp 9°C
Drainage RHS: grow in "full sun" outdoors, enriching the soil with garden compost or well-rotted manure before planting. Neither source states a soil texture.
Lifecycle Tender warm-season annual, raised fresh from seed each year in the UK
Edible parts fruits

At a Glance

Solanum melongena Aubergine Verticillium wilt Bacterial wilt (Ralston… Phomopsis blight Southern blight Phytophthora blight Glasshouse red spider m… Glasshouse whitefly Aphids Flea beetles Stink bugs and leaf-foo… Hornworms Colorado potato beetle DISEASES PESTS

Soil & Growing Conditions

Aubergine plants under greenhouse cultivation with ripening fruit — “Auberginen Gewächshausanbau” by Josef Schlaghecken is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Auberginen Gewächshausanbau” by Josef Schlaghecken is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Water: RHS: plants need a "steady supply of moisture", and containers "may need watering daily in hot weather"; mist the leaves "ideally twice daily" or damp down the greenhouse. Clemson: "Water sufficiently to moisten the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches".

Soil pH range

6 6.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing & seedlings 0 Aubergines are grown from seed sown indoors from February (as early as January with a heated propagator), as they need a long, warm season and at least 21°C to germinate. Sow seeds about 0.5-1cm deep (Clemson/UMD: about 1/4 inch) in small pots or modules of moist seed compost on a warm windowsill or in a heated propagator. Prick out or pot on into individual 7.5-9cm pots once seedlings are large enough to handle, and grow on in good light at around 18-21°C. Harden plants off before moving them outdoors or into an unheated greenhouse.
Vegetative growth & planting out 3 When plants are about 30cm tall, pinch out the growing tip to encourage a bushy, branching habit. Plant into final positions from April (heated greenhouse), early May (unheated greenhouse) or late May/early June outdoors after the last frost - one plant per 30cm pot, three per grow bag, or spaced about 60cm apart (Clemson/UMD: roughly 45-60cm / 18-24in apart in rows 75-90cm / 30-36in) in fertile soil enriched with garden compost or well-rotted manure. Support the top-heavy stems with canes, keep the soil evenly moist, and grow in full sun with at least 6 hours of light a day.
Flowering & fruit set 6 Purple, star-shaped flowers appear through summer. Mist the flowers and damp down under glass to raise humidity and help pollination and fruit set. Once the first fruits have set, begin feeding every 10-14 days with a high-potassium liquid feed (such as a tomato fertiliser). Maintain a steady, even supply of moisture - containers may need watering daily in hot weather - as fluctuating soil moisture and limited root space cause blossom end rot.
Fruit development & harvest 8 Restrict each plant to about five or six fruits for good size, removing further flowers once these have set. Continue feeding and watering steadily. Harvest from mid-summer into autumn (roughly 65-150 days from sowing) as soon as fruits are full-sized, ripe and well-coloured with a glossy skin, cutting them with a short stalk using secateurs. Pick promptly: once the skin becomes dull the fruit is over-ripe and may taste bitter. Harvested fruit stores in the fridge for about a week at 7-10°C and 90% relative humidity.

Harvest & Storage

Close-up of a striped purple and white aubergine fruit — “Albergínia (Solanum melongena), jardí botànic de València” by Joanbanjo is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Albergínia (Solanum melongena), jardí botànic de València” by Joanbanjo is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

When to pick: RHS: pick "as soon as they're full sized, ripe and well-coloured, with a glossy skin"; once the "skin becomes dull" the fruit "is probably over-ripe and may be bitter". Clemson: "When the side of the fruit is pressed slightly with the thumbnail, and an indentation remains, the fruit is ripe" for Italian types, while Japanese types "may be ready to harvest when the size of a finger or hot dog".

Storage

Clemson: "store in the refrigerator for a week. The optimal conditions for storage are temperatures of 45 to 50 °F and 90-percent relative humidity". RHS states no storage method.

Diseases

Verticillium wilt
high

Verticillium dahliae

Soil-borne and long-lived. Linked here as an existing shared entity rather than duplicated.

Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum)
high

Ralstonia solanacearum

A healthy plant wilts and dies within days, with the pith inside the stem turning reddish-brown. The bacterium persists in soil for years, so the only real control is rotation: no eggplant where tomatoes, potatoes or…

Phomopsis blight
medium

Phomopsis vexans

Chiefly a fruit rot -- pale sunken areas spreading on the fruit -- with a collar-rot stage that narrows the stem until it snaps 1-2 inches above soil level. More common in autumn than spring, so late plantings carry…

Southern blight
high

Sclerotium rolfsii

A white fungal mat at the stem base rots the stem; the plant yellows, wilts and dies. The tan sclerotia it leaves stay viable in soil for several years, so this is a rotation problem: keep eggplant off ground that grew…

Phytophthora blight
high

Phytophthora spp.

Dark streaking on the upper branches, then rapid collapse and death. Driven by excessive soil moisture, so the fix is drainage and drip irrigation rather than a spray.

Pests

Two-spotted red spider mite with silk threads, magnified — Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Glasshouse red spider mite (two-spotted spider mite)

Tetranychus urticae

RHS aubergine guide lists glasshouse red spider mite among aubergine pests.

Glasshouse whitefly adult on a leaf — Sanja565658, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sanja565658, CC BY-SA 3.0
Glasshouse whitefly

Trialeurodes vaporariorum

RHS aubergine guide lists glasshouse whitefly among aubergine pests.

Aphididae (various spp.)

RHS aubergine guide lists aphids among aubergine pests.

Flea beetles
high

Chrysomelidae: Alticini (various spp.)

Small shot-like holes through the foliage. Clemson: damage is most serious when the plants are small, which is what makes eggplant unusually vulnerable -- a level of damage a mature plant shrugs off can kill a young…

Stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs
medium

Pentatomidae and Coreidae

Feeding leaves a discoloured spot beneath the skin of developing fruit, which only becomes evident when the fruit is sliced; the spot may be depressed on the outside.

Hornworms
medium

Manduca spp.

Large caterpillars that rapidly eat great quantities of foliage, leaving little more than the large leaf veins. Remove by hand when found.

Colorado potato beetle
high

Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Populations build up quickly and cause significant defoliation and yield loss. Clemson notes adults and larvae are easy to handpick and squish, which is the practical garden-scale control.

Nutrient Issues

Calcium (Ca)

deficiency (physiological, uptake-related)

Correction

RHS is explicit that this is NOT corrected by adding calcium: blossom end rot is caused by "Lack of calcium in the fruits" resulting from interrupted water flow, not by a calcium-poor soil, and "applying foliar sprays of calcium salts such as calcium nitrate are not effective because calcium is not readily absorbed by the fruits". The correction is water management -- keep compost "consistently moist throughout the growing season" and "never allowed to dry out", water twice daily rather than once with double volume in hot weather, use larger containers or border soil rather than small pots and growing bags, and mulch to conserve moisture.

Companion Planting

Potato seedling and harvested tubers — Scott Bauer, USDA-ARS, public domain
Scott Bauer, USDA-ARS, public domain
avoid shared disease

Solanum tuberosum

Clemson HGIC gives a three-year solanaceous rotation for eggplant twice over: for bacterial wilt, "do not plant eggplant in areas that have had tomatoes, Irish potatoes, or eggplant planted in the previous three years"; and for southern blight, "avoid planting in areas where tomatoes, peppers,…

Gardener planting tomato seedlings beside a greenhouse — Maasaak, CC BY-SA 4.0
Maasaak, CC BY-SA 4.0
avoid shared disease

Solanum lycopersicum

Clemson HGIC gives a three-year solanaceous rotation for eggplant twice over: for bacterial wilt, "do not plant eggplant in areas that have had tomatoes, Irish potatoes, or eggplant planted in the previous three years"; and for southern blight, "avoid planting in areas where tomatoes, peppers,…

avoid shared disease

Capsicum annuum

Clemson HGIC gives a three-year solanaceous rotation for eggplant twice over: for bacterial wilt, "do not plant eggplant in areas that have had tomatoes, Irish potatoes, or eggplant planted in the previous three years"; and for southern blight, "avoid planting in areas where tomatoes, peppers,…

Pollination

Pollinating insects (bees and other flower visitors)

RHS: under cover, "open the door and vents on warm days when plants are in flower, to allow access for pollinating insects". Where insect access is limited, "misting the flowers also aids pollination, or you can hand pollinate flowers with a small paintbrush." Fruit set under glass is therefore an access problem before it is a plant problem.

Variety selection matters more for aubergines than most UK crops, since every one of them needs the full glasshouse season to fruit well.

  • Moneymaker — F1 hybrid, early and reliable with classic glossy purple fruits; a sensible default for a first attempt.
  • Black Beauty — traditional variety producing large fruits; good if you want fewer, bigger aubergines per plant.
  • Bonica — very productive F1 hybrid with good disease resistance; worth choosing where red spider mite has been a problem before.
  • Ophelia — compact F1 hybrid bred for containers; the best choice where glasshouse space is limited.

Restricting a plant to 5–6 fruits isn't wasteful, it's the opposite: letting every flower set fruit spreads the plant's limited energy too thin, producing many small, poor-quality aubergines instead of a handful of good ones.

Having the right tools makes growing aubergines easier. Our hand tools for gardening include secateurs for cutting fruit cleanly at harvest, and the soil and plant care range covers propagators for the heat aubergines need to germinate through to high-potash feeds for fruiting.

Planning the wider plot? See the UK vegetable planting calendar.

Plan your Aubergines planting

When to sow and plant Aubergines depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Aubergines: January, February, March, April. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Aubergine in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

References

  2. Names Phytophthora blight, bacterial wilt, southern blight and Phomopsis blight as the diseases, and aphids/whiteflies, flea beetles, Colorado potato beetle, hornworms, stink and leaf-footed bugs, and spider mites as the pests, each with symptoms and management. Carries the three-year solanaceous rotation rule for both bacterial wilt and southern blight.

  10. US extension source for the arid Intermountain West: allow 8-10 weeks to grow the transplant; transplant when soils are 60°F or after all frost danger has passed, using row covers or hot caps to protect plants set out before the frost-free period; most gardeners transplant through black plastic mulch for earlier maturity and higher productivity, and with plastic mulch and row covers plants can be set out several weeks before the last frost date; space 24 in apart in rows 24 in apart; germination at 80°F, seedlings grown on at 65-75°F; harvest at full size with a glossy sheen, 6-8 in long; stores 7 days at 50-55°F.

10 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I plant aubergines out in the UK?

In Southern England, from early May. In Scotland, wait until mid May. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to plant out only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.

When do I sow aubergines?

Sow early February to late March, at around 21°C for germination.

What soil pH do aubergines need?

A pH of about 6–6.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

What problems affect aubergines?

Our data links 5 diseases and 7 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.

Get the UK Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the direction of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

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Last verified 2026-08-06

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