Grow Your Own Magazine

I have what looks like healthy aubergine plants in my greenhouse which I grew from seed. I've had plenty of flowers but eventually they all seem to drop off and I've not a single fruit growing. What do you think? Have I done something wrong?

It's par for the course here I think. Mine had loads of flowers and no fruits until a few days ago. I now have a couple of aubergines 2" long! I'm told (by Snadger on a previous thread) that size does matter so I shall keep tending them till they are 6" long then they are for it! These 2 had set and begun to grow and although I check them daily I hadn't noticed. Once they start to set the are off. Keep hoping and give them tomato food and a decent drink.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

thanks flummery. They do get tomato food and plenty to drink as they are in amongst my tomatoes which are going great guns, loads of toms on them. Don't understand why the flowers keep dropping off tho.

Don't give up yet Cheffi, I have had the same problem, plenty of flowers but no aubergines until last week, now I have about 12 from 4 plants that are beginning to grow. There's still time yet!

Clareg

To those lucky souls with acutal augergines forming - are you assisting them in the fertilization stakes or just leaving them to it?

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Mine came from plants already started that I bought from the local garden centre and I just put them in the ground. I haven't done anything special with them and so far I have 3 aubergines from 6 plants, and lots more flowers. I didn't do anything about fertilisation but they are not in a sheltered spot so it may be that the wind has done the job for me Listen to me, as if I know what I am talking about. This is my first year gardening so perhaps I just got lucky

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For some reason all the aubergines in the greenhouse are flowering and not setting but the one I've got growing outside is currently growing 2 aubergines. I only put it outside as it was the poorest of the lot and there was no room left in the greenhouse and I didn't expect it to do well. Also got a bell pepper growing outside and that's doing well too, although these are doing well in the greenhouse, so will get a decent crop from them.
Perhaps I should grow all my aubergines outside in future?
Sue

I've not assisted nature - it seems a bit rude! They set by themselves but many do drop. I just assume they aren't getting optimum conditions in spite of my TLC.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

Thanks, thought they had other years but couldn't remember for sure. Still no sign of setting so can't see that I'll get anything although the plants are some of the healthiest I've ever had!

__________________

Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

I have just put mine outside! It has small aubergines on it but when I was at a local garden centre they had them outside and they were fruiting well and looked very healthy. Maybe it's a bit too hot and dry in the greenhouse?

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Snadger
I only kept them in the greenhouse, because I thought you were "supposed" to, too cold outside etc for them?
Be interested to know what other people do and perhaps I'll try more outside next year.
best wishes
Sue

Hi,

I'm growing Baby Rosanna variety in the greenhouse. Watering little and often and feeding with tomato feed as it said on the packet. Seems to be doing the trick!

Clareg

I've got one little aubergine plant outside & it has just one baby aubergine on it, I was really proud of it but now I'm worried as a snail or something has rasped along one side of the stem holding the fruit & it's hanging on for dear life! I think a few people growing them indoors have had problems with fruit setting this year, someone asked about this at a garden roadshow I was at the other week & no-one could come up with a definite answer as the plant was being fed & watered properly. Maybe you should move them outside for a while if that's possible while the weather is warmish & let them get a little air & insects to visit the flowers? Or maybe misting them lightly with water would help the fruits to set? Watch out for the blasted snails though!

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I grew mine from seed and they did nothing they flowered by that was it. So I have planted them out in the plot and still nothing.

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I gave mine a little help by gently rubbing the flowers, one after another. I now have about 3 or 4 that have set, but they are still really tiny. I once managed to grow aubergines outside, but it was that realllllly hot summer (2003?) and they were in a pot on a sheltered south facing walled patio. Mine are in the greenhouse this year. Everything is really held back at the mo - firstly we moved house, so were late anyway, but low light levels, cold and wind has done for most stuff on my plot .... oh and just a little too much of the wet stuff.

Oh so I'm not the only one having problems then. My daughter has a couple of plants outside and only one aubergine on them Don't think I'll bother next year. I'll give the room over to peppers which are growing great guns this year.

Problems with aubergines.... I usually manage to grow a few in an unheated greenhouse but this year they're even more pathetic than usual, wholly due I suspect to the 2007 summer. I saw some commercial research results on the Internet that suggested that fertilisation/fruit setting of aubergines was best undertaken at 30C (low 80s in old money, greenhouse territory) but that once set the fruit develops best at 22C (mid 60s, achievable outside in a "normal" summer). Perhaps this helps to explain the inside or outside question? I guess the problem remains, as always, knowing in advance what the summer's going to be like....

Incidentally, I was once told that whatever I did with an eggplant not to use the fruit until fully ripened as immature fruits contain toxins that can be poisonous - is that true? Along with tomatoes and potatoes it's evidently another one that belongs to the Nightshade Family which also of course contains Cousin Deadly so I've never been tempted to experiment! (Not that I have to worry about it this year!)

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