🍆 Aubergine

Aubergines are the most demanding of the fruiting vegetables for UK gardeners, needing a long season and plenty of warmth, but a greenhouse, polytunnel or warm conservatory makes them achievable. The glossy fruits and lilac flowers are attractive.

Choose early, compact varieties bred for northern climates and aim for just three to five fruits per plant, which gives larger and better-quality aubergines. Smaller, rounder types often do best outdoors in warm summers.

Varieties to try

Patio Baby (compact, early, for pots)Mini Bell (small, ornamental)Black Beauty (classic large, glossy)Moneymaker (reliable F1)Slim Jim (long, thin, fruit early)Bianca Rosa (pale lilac)

Sow early, in February to March, 5 mm deep in seed compost at 22–25°C in a heated propagator. They germinate in two to three weeks, and warmth is crucial. Prick out into individual 7–9 cm pots and keep them warm and bright.

Pot on into 12 cm pots and then into final 25–30 cm pots by late May. Keep them in a heated or frost-free greenhouse, or on a sunny windowsill, and move outdoors only after the frost, in June, if the weather is warm and the position sheltered. Even then, a greenhouse is more reliable.

Top tips

• Sow in February–March with strong heat.
• Keep warm after germination.
• Pot on without checking growth.
• Grow under glass for reliable results.

Keep plants warm and out of draughts. Water consistently, keeping the compost moist but not soggy, and feed weekly with tomato fertiliser once the first flowers set. Pinch out the growing tip when plants are 30 cm tall, and limit each plant to four to six fruits.

Mist the flowers in the morning to help setting, and support heavy plants with a cane. Red spider mite and whitefly are common under glass; keep humidity up and check the leaf undersides regularly. Cold nights stop growth and drop flowers.

Top tips

• Limit to 4–6 fruits per plant.
• Keep above 15°C at night.
• Mist the flowers to aid setting.
• Support with a cane.

Watch out for

Red spider miteWhiteflyAphidsFlower and fruit drop in cold spells

Pick aubergines in August to October when the skin is glossy, firm and fully coloured, and springs back when gently pressed. If the skin has lost its shine or the flesh is spongy, they are overripe. Cut off with a sharp knife or secateurs, leaving a short stalk.

Picking regularly encourages more fruits. Before the first frost, pick all the remaining fruit, even if small. Aubergines are best used on the day or within a few days of picking.

Top tips

• Pick when glossy and firm.
• Cut, don’t pull, off the plant.
• Pick before frost.
• Eat small fruits too.

Roast, grill, fry or bake aubergines, in moussaka, ratatouille, curries, baba ganoush, parmigiana and stir-fries. Slice, salt and rinse older aubergines to draw out any bitterness (modern varieties rarely need this), and cook until completely soft and creamy.

Aubergines keep for about a week in a cool place or the fridge’s salad drawer, but not in the cold part. They do not freeze raw, but cooked aubergine dishes freeze well, and roasted flesh can be frozen for use in dips.

Top tips

• Cook until completely soft.
• Roast the flesh for baba ganoush.
• Do not refrigerate below 8°C.
• Freeze cooked dishes.