Curious about growing eggplant? In this post, we will teach you all the secrets to growing eggplant… even if you think you have a black thumb! In this post, we will discuss which varieties are available, how and when to plant, when to harvest, and how to prepare the fruit once it is in your kitchen. 

Eggplant in the Kitchen

Mmmm…. Eggplant

My sweet husband celebrated his birthday last month. Our family has a tradition, as I am sure many families do, that the birthday boy (or girl) gets to choose what is eaten for dinner on their birthday. My daughter and I are super predictable about what we choose every year. My husband (Bill) is not. 

After much debate about what he wanted, he heard me mention that I had a handful of eggplant ready to come in from the garden. He excitedly declared that he wanted Eggplant Parmesan for his birthday. I did not grow up in an eggplant eating family, but my Italian husband did and he loves it. Because of this, I always grow at least one plant. 

My husband is a great cook and makes Eggplant Parmesan so much better than I do, so I made him cook his own birthday dinner. In all fairness, I did make him his favorite desert. While he was cooking, he did have a fantastic realization… almost all of the ingredients in the Eggplant Parmesan came from my garden! He was super excited that I grew so many of the necessary ingredients! I felt a little less guilty about making him cook his own dinner after that!

Eggplant isn’t just good for Eggplant Parmesan either… I have thrown it in with many other dishes and it has been divine. I hear that it is great in stir fry and is delicious grilled too.

Choosing the Best Variety of Eggplant for Your Garden

There are a lot of eggplant varieties out there. Let’s explore all of the different types, shall we?

Globe (aka American): is the largest of all eggplants, is typically dark purple, and is good for roasting and grilling. You are probably thinking about this eggplant right now as it is a common grocery store variety.

Italian: is smaller than globe, but still big (especially compared to other eggplant) and is still dark purple. It’s also a bit sweeter than globe.

Japanese/Chinese: are long and thin and come in all shades of purple.

Graffiti (or Rosa Bianca): are marbled (or striped) with white. These look pretty, but don’t hold their flavor quite as well when cooked.

Indian: are short and squat and are commonly used in (yep, you guessed it) Indian cooking

Thai: are tiny and bite-sized and come in a whole bunch of colors, including green, white and purple.

White and Green: these varieties grow white or green and are not as strongly flavored as the purple eggplant varieties.

Fairytale: are tiny and are purple with white stripes.

Now for a fun fact - have you ever wondered why the name eggplant? Well, apparently, it comes from when Britain was colonizing India. The colonizers saw white eggplant growing and dubbed it eggplant, since it resembled eggs!

How to Successfully Grow Eggplant (aka How Not to Kill Eggplant)

Eggplant is native to the subtropical regions of the world and as such, loves heat. It will not do well in the cold. Because of this, be sure to start your seeds indoors about 7-10 weeks before you transplant them outdoors. You will want to wait until 4-6 weeks after the last frost to transplant, so start seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost date.

Eggplants require full sun and a bit of space, so make sure that they have both of those things. Eggplants grow well in containers, but do better if you plant them in a dark colored container… it helps keep the soil warm!

When planting eggplant, be sure to add a structural support when planting. If you don’t, you risk the plant tipping over from the weight of the fruit. A stake or pole is fine, but a trellis would work too.

Eggplants require regular fertilizer throughout the season. You want to choose a fertilizer that is lower in nitrogen (the first number on the fertilizer readout) and higher in phosphate and potash (the second and third numbers). Something with a rating of 10-20-20 is good.

How (and When) to Harvest Eggplant

Eggplant is ready to harvest when the skin goes from dull to shiny. Depending on the variety, you want the fruit to be large, but not too large, as waiting too long to bring eggplant in can lead to bitter tasting fruit. 

When it is time to pick the fruit, don’t actually pick the fruit- that can damage the plant. Instead, use a sharp knife to cut the fruit off of the plant. Cut right above the spot where the stem and plant meet. I usually use my pruning shears and that works perfectly.

Eggplant Storage

Eggplant can be stored in the fridge for up to a week after harvest. Unfortunately, it doesn’t keep well beyond that, but don’t worry… it probably won’t stay in your fridge for that long anyway since you’ll be eating it as quickly as you harvest it.

Eggplant Fast Facts

Crop Rotation Group: Fruiting

Planting Method: Transplant

Structural Support: Pole (or stake) or trellis

Number per Square Foot: 1

Days to Harvest: 70-85 days (from transplant)

As always, we want to make this blog perfect for you! Comment below with what plants you want to learn to grow or what garden questions you have and we will feature those in upcoming blog posts. Happy gardening!