An aubergine

[jacob]

OK, it's not very big, but... I have grown an aubergine, in July, in eastern Scotland. I am pleased. (And there's many more on the way.)

[Nicos]

That's fantastic jacob!
Any tricks of the trade you'd like to share????

[PyreneesPlot]

Green with envy - down here in hot and sunny south west France I've not had a single flower set yet

[bario1]

Yes well done, I too would like to know the secret of your success! Did you start from seed? Which variety is it etc etc.... aubergines are my GYO obsession and I've never had a decent one yet.

[marchogaeth]

Green with envy - down here in hot and sunny south west France I've not had a single flower set yet

I am no expert but I seem to remember reading that aubergines need moist air to set the fruit and so are better in the middle of tunnels etc where the air may be more moist. I always mist mine so I hope I've remembered that correctly!! (Makes note to check........ I may be back......)

BACK

Hessayon specifically says to mist for fruit set. Gatter and McKee seem to imply it although they also talk about needing good ventilation for fruit set, interestingly Joyce Russell only talks about pollinating by hand, I've never done any but the very earliest flowers in bad insect years with a paint brush.

I do limit my bushes to 5-7 fruit each depending on the year and how healthy the plants look.

[bario1]

What do you mean by 'misting', Marchogaeth?

[marchogaeth]

What do you mean by 'misting', Marchogaeth?

Spray bottle with water in and just create a "mist" around the plants (not soaking) - this also discourages red spider mite. I would not consider myself a very proficient aubergine grower but I have always harvested some. I'm about 600' up on a North facing slope so never expect too much, the tunnel makes gardening dry as much as anything!

[Bren In Pots]

Congrats on your aubergine I gave up trying to grow them after having only one tiny fruit from 5 plants, they did have pretty blue flowers though.

[roitelet]

I tickle the flower stamens as I pass and have a fairly good set. Picked two already about 8 inches long and have quite a few more babies.

[MrsCordial]

Hurray - well done! Last year I bought a couple of aubergine seedlings from a village hall sale and grew two small aubergines, but I was thrilled. This year I bought seeds from Real Seeds (something de Barbantine, I think). I've made every mistake in the book this year, but I have four small aub plants outside, and they're setting flowers nicely. I don't do anything special - I have no tunnel or greenhouse - but the hot weather must help. Mine are small, but I'm happy:

[marchogaeth]

I really find it hard to get the deB's to germinate as they need very high temperatures which I cannot get early on in the year in my house.

[MrsCordial]

Yes, they did take forever, to the point where I assumed nothing would happen, but then they emerged. I didn't realise aubs needed to be started so early - I've read Feb is recommended. I'll do that next year. I've recently acquired a small bookcase that site on the landing next to a radiator, which will be on twice a day in Feb, so I'll see if that does the trick. Otherwise I might be persuaded to invest in a heat mat. For aubergines, I'll put in the effort!

[bario1]

I also tried 'De Barbentine' or whatever and had zero germination. Great results from 'Baby Belle' and 'Bonica' though (F1s), and I have a couple of 'Black Beauty'. I also have some 'melanzana violetta lunga' I bought as plug plants, and a sorry looking 'Scorpio' that i rescued from B&Q's last chance saloon section (this now looks most likely to produce a fruit!)

I am determined to find something that works!

[PyreneesPlot]

Oh, well - mine are just planted out in the ground with everything else and told to get on with it. I may start tickling ... The plants are healthy

[jacob]

Some notes on growing aubergines...

Variety: the one pictured in a Moneymaker from Suttons (it produced smallish aubergines and I get a good few per plant). Over my years attempting to grow aubergines this has been by far my successful variety. So why have you stopped selling it Suttons? Why? I've also got Diamond (which has a habit of only producing one at a time), Early Long Purple, and new for this year Galine and de Barsomething.

Sowing: modules, inside in modules, late January. I don't have a heated propagator, but I'm sure this would help. Lids off quick, and keep moist, they die easily at this stage.

Bringing on: treat them like chillies. Grown inside for a while, then for a few weeks in late March/early April they're on the daily shuttle tray in/out of the greenhouse.

Weather: it's helped that it's been the warmest spring I've had growing in Fife. And it's been fairly sunny with it.

Medium: I'm growing in pots, in a greenhouse (the GH gets sun 8:30-14:30, owing to my neighbours irritatingly large tree). When I say pots, I mean planters. Big ones. In them is last year's pot soil cut with about 1/3 fresh compost from the heap and laced with a bit of woodash.

Potting on: Pot aubergines on aggressively. Don't wait for them to get pot bounds, pot them on as soon as the plant looks like it's a sensible size for the pot. They hate getting tangled up roots in the pot. You might turn it out and think that's not ready, but it is. I'm going module -> 3" -> 7" -> planter.

Flowers: Although you don't need to do anything special for fertilisation (they're like tomatoes, just tap, if you want to be sure), those big flowers are mould magnets and the flowers don't always drop. Mouldly dead flower means no aubergine. As soon as they don't open during the day and show a bit of shrivel, I ease the flower off (this is a bit tricky, don't pull too hard and remove the aubergine!).

I'm not doing anything special with watering and feeding, a bit like tomatoes, but require a little less water.

Conclusion: sow early, pot on early, careful with the flowers. I always get something of a crop, this year (so far) is looking particularly good.