Aubergine

Solanum melongena

Aubergines come in purple, white or striped. They need more heat than tomatoes and about five months from sowing to harvest. In a cool summer, grow them in a greenhouse or your sunniest, most sheltered spot. Pinch off the tip at about 30 cm for a bushier plant. On large-fruited types, keep five or six fruits.

Looking after it

Water: Aubergines need a lot of water, so keep the soil steadily moist. In hot weather a pot can need water every day. Under cover, misting the leaves twice a day also keeps red spider mite away. Feeding: They need a lot of feeding. Once the first flowers open, give a high-potassium liquid feed every two weeks. Rich ground needs less, but feeding still gives a bigger crop.

Harvest and keeping

Cut each fruit with a few centimetres of stalk once it is full size, glossy and well coloured. Dull skin means it is over-ripe and may taste bitter. Pick regularly and watch out for the small spines on the stalk. Aubergines keep best at cool room temperature, so eat them within days. In the fridge they last 1 to 3 days, if you cook them soon after.

What can go wrong

Few or no fruits. Plants set few fruits or none, usually because of a cool summer or a cold spot. Give them your hottest, sunniest spot and steady moisture. Pick off flowers that open after late summer, as their fruit won't ripen.
Red spider mite. In hot, dry air under cover, the leaves get fine pale speckles and thin webbing. On hot mornings, mist the leaves and wet the greenhouse floor.
Aphids and whitefly. Small insects suck sap under the leaves, which turn sticky and pale. Check the undersides often and wash off small groups. In a greenhouse, yellow sticky traps catch whitefly.

Growing facts: RHS, UC ANR and seed-company sowing guides. Aubergine care: RHS. How many to grow: Kansas State and Virginia Tech extension. pH: Virginia Tech extension. Keeping: Kansas State and University of Missouri extension.