How tall does eggplant grow

This eggplant cultivar is a Taiwanese variety that bears cylindrical violet-purple fruits up to 12 inches long. This selection of Solanum melongena produces inch oval fruits striped purple and white. It grows well in container gardens. Search by Plant Name. Eggplant Solanum melongena. Save Pin FB More. Garden Plans For Eggplant Vegetable Garden. Cool Season Kitchen Garden illustration. Solanum melongena 'Tango Hybrid' bears 7-inch-long white fruits in just 60 days.

Back to story Comment on this project. Early morning allows the bulk of the water to soak in and any excess water to evaporate as the sun rises. If you are using a soaker hose, and not allowing the foliage to become wet, you can water in the evenings instead. Either way, you do not want the leaves of your plants to remain wet for long periods; this invites the spread of fungal diseases.

Using organic mulch will help to maintain moisture levels by slowing evaporation and will allow you to increase the time between irrigation during dry spells. Straw, pine needles, grass clippings, and bark can all be used as mulch. Keep any mulch away from plant stems as it invites animals such as mice and voles to attack your plants.

It can also facilitate the spread of fungal and viral disease. Fruits are heavy, so stake plants from the beginning in the same way you would stake a tomato. Make sure you do this at planting time to avoid damaging the roots later on. You can also use supporting techniques such as the Florida weave.

This will keep leaves off the ground, which will help to reduce chances for disease and prevent fruits from becoming deformed. Eggplants, much like tomatoes and peppers, have flowers with both male and female parts and are considered self-pollinating. However, wind and pollinators can only help. So, while hoop houses and row covers are great tools, you may have a smaller harvest if you keep crops enclosed throughout the entire growing season.

With that said, give plants a little shake here and there to further improve chances for pollination or use our tips on hand-pollination. Eggplants grow well in containers, too. Use a five-gallon container for each plant and fill with moistened potting mix. Granular fertilizer is a good option for container plantings since, in my experience, compost typically results in waterlogged soil over time.

Also keep in mind that soil in containers dries out faster than in the garden, so you will need to water more frequently. Plants typically grow to be at least 18 inches both wide and tall, so space appropriately to allow for airflow.

Learn more about how to grow eggplants in containers in our guide. White, yellow, green, and varying shades of purple fruit come in a multitude of shapes and sizes, and are enjoyed all over the world. This is the classic western eggplant heirloom variety that has been the standard for over a century. This cultivar generally yields four to six fruits per plant. Seeds in packets of various sizes are available from Eden Brothers.

These plants bear long, slender eight-inch fruits, with light to dark purple skin and the flesh is nearly seedless. You can purchase various sizes of seed packets at True Leaf Market. This petite All-American Selection winner produces white, three- to four-inch fruits that are sweet and tender-skinned.

This hybrid variety produces fruit that has no bitterness and few seeds. This cultivar only grows to two and a half feet tall and wide making it perfect for container gardening.

Gourmet Blend Eggplant Seeds. Buy this selection at Burpee Seeds. Okay — so that might be a little dramatic. But with some perseverance, they can be controlled with organic methods or dealt with by chemical pesticide. Although many types of flea beetles can munch on your crops, the eggplant flea beetle Epitrix fuscula is a particularly voracious eater of S. Learn more about combating flea beetles with our guide. If you want to find out the soil temperature, use a probe-type thermometer to check.

If the thermometer reads a temperature that is too low, then you have some options. One option is to wait until the sun warms up the soil. To speed up this process, clear away any debris, such as leaves or grass clippings, from the soil surface.

Also make sure to choose a location for planting that gets plenty of sun, so that it can warm up the soil faster. If you are worried about a short growing season, you can also use a cloche a plastic or glass cover to trap some heat and warm up the air and soil near your eggplant seeds. A cloche can be made from a plastic water bottle to retain warmth and humidity in the soil for seeds or seedlings as they grow.

A cloche can be made from a plastic water bottle, and will keep seeds or seedlings warmer than the surrounding air, especially on sunny days. A cloche can be made from a plastic water bottle to trap heat and moisture in a small area to help seeds germinate faster. For more information, check out the table below, and check out this article from the University of California on ideal seed germination temperatures. Eggplants can tolerate some drought when established, but you should keep the soil moist during seed germination and when they plants are young.

Uneven watering can cause blossom end rot, as can calcium deficiency. For more information on watering, check out this article on eggplants from the Utah State University Extensio n. If you find that you have a problem with dry soil, check out my article on how to treat dry soil.

On the other hand, over watering your eggplants or any plants for that matter can lead to root rot and eventual death. The best way to decide when to water is to feel the soil with your fingers. If the soil feels dry 2 or 3 inches below the surface, then go ahead and water. For more information, check out my article on over watering your plants. Try to water early in the morning, rather than at night, to allow water to soak into the soil. Avoid getting the leaves wet to prevent rot, mold, and diseases.

After transplanting, use a balanced fertilizer such as , to encourage vine and leaf growth. The University of Maryland Extension suggests side dressing with 1 to 2 ounces of fertilizer per plant after the first fruits form on the plant. This is a good time to install stakes to keep the plants from falling over as they load up with fruits. Self-fertile eggplant flowers can be fertilized by wind alone, but buzz-pollination by bees improves fruit set and fruit size.

Many of the best pollinators are solitary bees — carpenter bees, bumblebees, and little sweat bees — who vibrate the blossoms to shake out pollen. If pollinators are absent or you have only a few plants, you can hand pollinate them by dabbing a dry artist's paintbrush in the open blossoms. Or, touch the back of the blossoms with a vibrating toothbrush to simulate a visit from a buzzing bee.

About six weeks after planting, when the plants bloom and set their first fruits, they benefit from extra nutrients. You can side-dress the plants with organic fertilizer or composted manure, or give them a deep drench with a water-soluble plant food. Fertilize again in late summer, when the plants are holding a heavy set of fruits. Container-grown eggplant needs almost constant feeding, though you must look out for excessive salt buildup, which can cause the plants to stop growing.