Aubergines 2020

**Thelma Sanders** · 04-03-2020, 02:37 PM

No no nope! Not ever trying again *grumble grump*
So many tries, I've often grown lovely plants with lots of lovely purple flowers - but actual aubergines worth eating? - just 1 or 2

Sooo not worth the effort, the compost or the room in the greenhouse

Enuf said!

**greenishfing** · 04-03-2020, 02:42 PM

If you can manage to get the plants to 3 or 4 inches tall they'll suddenly go mad. By the way Delia's oven roast ratatouille is amazing and freezes well. I mention this because you might just be inundated with aubergines this year and it also uses some of the courgette glut!

**veggiechicken** · 04-03-2020, 02:42 PM

Sounds very familiar, Thelma.

I'm going to think of them as decorative pot plants and, if there should be a fruit, it will be a bonus.

Got to germinate some first!!

**greenishfing** · 04-03-2020, 02:50 PM

Just a thought I never plant my seeds until mid- April.

I just feed mine along with the tomatoes and peppers (when I remember).
Most years I get an infestation of green fly on them and about 3 or 4 days later a load of lady bird larvae appear and eat them.

**veggiechicken** · 04-03-2020, 02:52 PM

What variety do you grow greenish?

**greenishfing** · 04-03-2020, 02:56 PM

Nothing special. Whatever seed is in a sale. I think I've got black Beauty this year.....but it's just random. I grew Aldi's or Lidl's one year and they did well.

**Mark_Riga** · 04-03-2020, 03:10 PM

I find the fruit often rot unless you remove the, quite chunky, petals soon after flowering.

**veggiechicken** · 04-03-2020, 03:16 PM

Originally posted by greenishfing View Post

Nothing special. Whatever seed is in a sale. I think I've got black Beauty this year.....but it's just random. I grew Aldi's or Lidl's one year and they did well.

You're a natural with them,!!

Originally posted by Mark_Riga View Post

I find the fruit often rot unless you remove the, quite chunky, petals soon after flowering.

Thanks Mark - if I manage to reach the flower stage, I'll do that!

**smallblueplanet** · 04-03-2020, 03:25 PM

They are very easy to germinate (especially fresh packed seed). I do ours in the heated prop with the chillies and peppers. Our first of the season has just germinated. We used to sow them quite early but they need warmth and light which is easier to provide later into the year.

I've grown all sorts of aubs in our (ordinary) greenhouse, they do like it a bit more humid than toms but mine seem to grow away no problems. The biggest problem is making sure it's warm enough for the flowers to set. Some people try to ensure this by pollinating them using a paintbrush, I just make sure the temp they're in is hot.

Pictures from a few years ago (in reverse order!):

I only grow those I know the name of because the bigger fruiting aubs need a longer season and you don't get as many per plant. It's easier for us to use smaller aubs but big ones are great too! They're ripe when you can see them - well we've cooked them from ping pong ball size. They're over-ripe when they lose their lovely shiny skin, I believe going on what shop bought are like, we've never let ours get old. I love them!

Edit: as for removing petals, nope never bothered. But I do thin the leaves out as they can get very 'overgrown'.

**Bren In Pots** · 04-03-2020, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by Thelma Sanders View Post

No no nope! Not ever trying again *grumble grump*
So many tries, I've often grown lovely plants with lots of lovely purple flowers - but actual aubergines worth eating? - just 1 or 2

Sooo not worth the effort, the compost or the room in the greenhouse

Enuf said!

I’m another never again Thelma’s posted just what I would have said. I’ll be following the thread though be interesting to see how many do get actual aubergines.

**Small pumpkin** · 04-03-2020, 03:43 PM

For the first time in many years I�m not growing aubergines. I�ve always had great success with money maker. I�ve not really tried any other varieties. I probably should.
I don�t really know what advice to give. I sow in heated propagator. When everything is frost free I plant in the tunnel raised bed. Get excited when flowers appear, more excited when fruits appear, swear a lot when harvesting. Spiky little *****!

**smallblueplanet** · 04-03-2020, 03:44 PM

Past pictures, just found these of Ping Tung Long, makes me wish I'd some seed they were good. Plant pictures aren't great as I didn't take that many. Can't remember what the bottom one was!

Edit: thanks Small Pumpkin, I forgot to say indeed some varieties have VERY spikey leaves, lol!

**quanglewangle** · 04-03-2020, 04:41 PM

Last year (our first with a greenhouse) we sowed Money Maker in Feb in greenhouse on the heated sand tray. Potted on to three, one each into 30cm pots eventually - still on heated tray. Got a very good yield: didn't weigh but got loads. We grew a bunch of marigolds in the corner of the greenhouse against aphids and cards with eggs of the parasite "Encarsia" against white fly.

Watered the pots with dilute tomato fertilizer and kept sand tray pretty wet with plain water.

I think we ran our greenhouse quite warm - ie set the vent to open late - compared to what I understand most folks on the forum do: 25�C to 30�C daytime air temperature was quite common and sometimes over that. That worked for the melons too.

At the end of the season we noticed a large amount of root out of the bottom of the pots in the sand tray sand. In fact the sand was completely matted

Aubergine plants July 27 2019

**Starch** · 04-03-2020, 05:13 PM

Previously I got lots of flowers but not many set so last year I picked about half off and pinched out the top once they were about half a metre tall got a fair crop but not much bigger than golf ball. I have started some off earlier this year and they have all come up.

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