Growing Instructions for Eggplant (Brinjal/Aubergine)

Season:

Summer

Eggplant is part of the Tomato family and therefore, just like tomatoes, grown in summer.

 

Position:

Full sun

In very hot areas, shade netting of about 30% to 40% can be used.

 

Soil ph:

Between 5.5 and 6.5

 

Watering needs:

Water regularly – around 3 times a week.

 

Possible pests & problems:

Red Spider mite

Aphids (very rare)

 

Maintenance & Extras:

Eggplant is a very easy plant to grow. It needs rich, fertile, sandy loam and it likes growing in full

sun. Staking might be needed, as the fruit can sometimes get so big and heavy that it will break

off the branch. Make sure there is enough air flow between plants. Eggplant planted on top of

each other, easily gets Red Spider mite.

 

Additional fertilizers:

Root feed (once a month)

 

Harvest:

Eggplant should be harvested when mature, but the size depends on the variety. There are small,

white eggplants available and they are about the size of an egg. The Black Beauty eggplant can

grow very big.

 

Cultivars:

There are many different varieties of eggplant, varying in size and colour. The most well-known

eggplant in South Africa is the Black Beauty, which is a large eggplant with dark purple skin.

Turkish Orange eggplant is a lesser known variety that is smaller and has orange skin. There are

also “finger” eggplant and a whole array of Chinese eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Indian eggplant

and Thai eggplant (which is green and white and the size of a ping pong ball). It can be very

exciting to try all the different varieties!

 

General:

Eggplant is easy to grow, but must be carefully inspected for aphids and red spider mite on a

regular basis. Feed your plant some extra Epsom salts (magnesium) when the plant starts

flowering.

Eggplant can be grown in containers of about 30cm to 40cm deep.

Good companion plants for eggplant are spinach, chillies & peppers, Marigolds, Naturtium, radish,

spring onion, dill and mint varieties (but do keep the mint in a pot, because mint tends to take over

the whole garden bed).

Keep eggplant away from tomato plants, as they are from the same family and disease can easily

spread from one to the other.