Aubergines 2022

[Dorothyrouse]

Ok, so I have 3 healthy looking plants growing outside, 2 have a good looking fruit, but that’s it! A lot of flowers, but can’t see any more fruit, should I be doing something?

they are fed weekly

[Mr Bones]

The flowers self pollinate (like tomatoes) but if they're struggling to set fruit you can help them along with a finger tip or small paint brush.

[peanut]

I've got flowers but no fruit as yet... grrrr

[Mr Bones]

^^^ That's a sympathy like peanut , maybe try interfering with them..

[peanut]

Thank you for your sympathetic like. I'm tickling and misting as part of my interfering Mr Bones and I am still hopeful for some fruit, even a fruit. I'm not giving up yet!

[fimblefowl]

I think my aubergines have finished. Got 5 or 6 off each plant so not a disaster. Although they are like indeterminate tomatoes and keep growing and flowering they aren't setting fruit. I may have let the last few fruit go too far and mature. That sometimes sends 'close down' signals.

[Snoop Puss]

That seems a bit early, FF. Maybe it's just the weather. I often get a really big flush of aubergines in September. Yours might start up again.

[Jungle Jane]

The temperatures we’ve had here have affected the growth,this is taken from a research institute in the link -
“A moderately warm and long growing season is desirable for its cultivation. Ideal temperature for growth is 20-30°C but during summer month when temperature goes beyond 35°C, it affects plant growth, development and subsequently yield. The optimum temperature requirement for fruit set is 18-21°C.
Due to heat stress (HS), changes occur at morpho-anatomical, physiological, biochemical process in plants. In almost all the annual crops, exposure to intense heat stress leads to extreme yield loss (Tesfaendrias et al., 20). Abnormal flower development, dehiscence and poor production of pollen, low pollen viability, bud drop, decline in the level of carbohydrate and reproductive anomalies are the reasons for reduced fruit set at elevated temperature”
https://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/bit...d%20traits.pdf

[Mr Bones]

That's interesting Jungle Jane explains why some of our flowers are just dropping off of late without making fruit. Lots of fruit already - set before the heatwave - so today made Baba Ganoush.

[fimblefowl]

Really interesting and useful Jungle Jane . I won't throw them out just yet then

[Snoop Puss]

Time to start growing some, at least, outdoors and not in a greenhouse?

Edited to add: Sorry, that came across as a bit glib. What I meant is that mine are outside in a south-facing bed, so constantly exposed to the sun. We had a high in the shade of 42.3 ºC yesterday. So they can handle heat, just maybe not the extremely hot temps in a greenhouse. So perhaps, as an insurance policy, if you have the space, putting some in a bed outdoors might be worth trying.

My neighbour down the valley is in a much colder spot than me, though sheltered from the wind. He planted his aubergine plants out much earlier than me and they have thrived, even though I expected them to keel over and give up in the very cold weather we had in spring.

[fimblefowl]

Time to start growing some, at least, outdoors and not in a greenhouse?

I was never really successful at gardening until I got a greenhouse. Outside are weeds, wind, wildlife that if not hungry are remarkably clumsy, and in this mild wet climate, armies of slugs.
We could probably grow them outside but any that survived would look awful.

[Snoop Puss]

I was never really successful at gardening until I got a greenhouse. Outside are weeds, wind, wildlife that if not hungry are remarkably clumsy, and in this mild wet climate, armies of slugs.
We could probably grow them outside but any that survived would look awful.

Fair enough. But not even worth an experiment?

[Mr Bones]

Our (Kings Seeds version of) Money Maker in pots have been moved from the greenhouse to outside because they have spider mite. Be interesting to see if they set any more fruit. For interest - of the three varieties we're growing (Black Beauty, Early Long Purple and Money Maker) the Money Maker are far more prone to pest attack than the other two.

[Mr Bones]

Yesterdays Baba Ganoush on the left. Took half a kilo of untrimmed aubergines to make this