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Aubergines come from warm tropical regions, but are increasingly being grown in our latitudes in the garden or on the balcony. We introduce the eggplant and give tips on propagating and caring for aubergines.
Aubergines (Solanum melongena), like tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). The aubergine, also known as eggplant, eggplant or aubergine, is a heat-loving plant that is being cultivated more and more in gardens and on terraces and balconies. With us you will learn everything about the origin, properties and care of the aubergine plant.
Aubergine: origin and characteristics
The aubergine originally comes from the tropical regions of Asia and, according to archaeological records, has been cultivated for over 4000 years. The popular vegetable has been cultivated in Greece and Italy for around 500 years, after it first made its way to Europe in the 13th century. The main growing countries today are China, USA, Turkey, Italy and Spain.
Aubergines grow into bushy, branched plants. They form large, softly hairy, slightly lobed to wavy leaves, which can occasionally have spines on the back of the leaf. Depending on the variety and species, the leaves of the aubergine plant are light green to violet-green in color with dark veins. The egg plant forms a somewhat flatter root system than the tomato, but the main shoots become much more lignified in comparison. From June onwards, the large, mostly violet or white, star-shaped flowers of the aubergine plant appear on the inflorescences. From this, usually only one or two fruits develop from each infructescence, which are oval, round, bell-shaped, club-shaped or elongated. Their skin usually turns dark purple or white as they ripen - but purple striped, yellow, orange or green fruits can also develop. Aubergines have creamy-white flesh inside with numerous flattened, red-brown seeds.
Is the aubergine a vegetable or a fruit?
The eggplant looks unusual.That's why many people ask themselves what exactly the aubergine is. In fact, there is no precise definition of fruits and vegetables - the aubergine is commonly referred to as a fruit vegetable. Botanically, eggplants are berries. Since the aubergine contains hardly any sugar and is therefore not used on cakes or in jams like fruit, it is classified as a vegetable. How to properly store and process aubergines is shown in the article Harvesting and storing aubergines.
Is the aubergine perennial?
Aubergines are basically perennial plants. However, since they have no frost or cold tolerance and usually die off in winter, they are grown from seeds in our latitudes every year. In principle, overwintering is possible, but the effort and the high risk of pest infestation in winter quarters are not worthwhile compared to the unproblematic rearing of new aubergine plants.
How big does an eggplant plant get?
Aubergines reach an average height of 70 to 150 cm. Aubergine varieties with an extremely bushy growth of up to 40 cm and small fruits are now also available, which are particularly suitable for pot culture and for growing on balconies.
Care for eggplant plants
Aubergines are similar to tomatoes in terms of care and reward with their versatile fruits after successful cultivation. We share tips on caring for eggplant plants.
Fertilize and water eggplants
Eggplants are among the nutrient-hungry, highly consuming types of vegetables. Fertilizing aubergines is therefore an important care measure to keep the plants he althy and productive. Slow-acting, organic fertilizers release their nutrients over several months to years, improve the soil structure through their decomposition and serve as food for soil organisms. In the spring, mature compost or manure can be worked into the bed or greenhouse. An organic liquid fertilizer such as our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable fertilizer is equally suitable for aubergine plants in pots and outdoors. About once a week the fertilizer is applied in a dosage of 5 to 15 ml to 5 liters of water when watering. The essential nutrients it contains, such as potassium and nitrogen, reach the plant roots directly. Even signs of acute nutrient deficiencies, such as yellowing of the lower leaves, can so quicklybe cured.
Aubergines need quite a lot of watering - in summer, watering can be necessary daily, at best in the morning. Aubergine plants should never be watered from above, so that the fruit and shoots get wet, or spray water with soil and any pathogens gets onto the damp leaves. Watering is always done from below directly on the stem of the plant.
Do you have to exhaust eggplants?
You don't have to exhaust eggplants, but there are some advantages. Only 2 to 3 main shoots are cultivated and all other side shoots are regularly removed. This means that the plant has more energy to supply the fruit. In addition, thanks to the high humidity in the greenhouse, the aubergines dry out more quickly and are therefore less at risk of suffering from fungal diseases. In the case of small mini aubergines for the balcony, you should not be stingy at all, as the small fruits are usually sufficiently cared for. In order to stimulate flowering, however, you can break out the first flower, the so-called "king flower", of the aubergine - just like with peppers.
Common pests and diseases
Aubergines are susceptible to all diseases and pests that can affect tomatoes. Interestingly, pests such as aphids and spider mites in particular prefer the aubergine to all other plants in the greenhouse, so some nurseries use it as a kind of trapping plant for pest control. As soon as the aubergines are infested, this is a sign that the entire stock should be treated as a precaution. The following diseases are common on eggplants:
- Aphids (Aphidoidea): Severe infestations lead to deformed and curled leaves and shoot tips.
- Spider mites (Tetranychidae): The sap-sucking arachnids lead to characteristic, punctiform brightening and small webs on the plants.
- Whitefly (Aleyrodidae): The adult, white insects of the whitefly sucking leaf sap are often the first to be noticed because they fly up when the plant moves.
- Potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata): The larvae of the potato beetle can devour an aubergine plant down to the leaf skeleton in a very short time.
- Gray mold (Botrytiscinerea): fungal disease that likes to infect injuries in warm, humid weather and weak plants and flowers as well as fruits. Brown spots appear first, which are later covered by a gray layer of fungus.
- Fungal wilt: Fungal disease, for example by Verticillium or Fusarium oxysporum, whereby first the lower leaves turn yellow and then the whole plants wither. The channels for water and nutrients are discolored brown.
You can also read about combating and preventing the diseases mentioned in our article Protecting tomatoes from diseases. The tips there also apply to aubergines.
Propagation: Win eggplant seeds
To propagate eggplants from seeds, you can harvest them yourself. True-to-variety propagation is possible with all non-hybrid, seed-solid varieties. Eggplants are mostly self-pollinating - shaking the open flowers gently in the morning helps. Now it's time to wait until the fruits and seeds inside have ripened. For this, the eggplants have to stay hanging much longer than for use in the kitchen, often until just before the end of the season. A sure sign that the seeds are well-ripened is the renewed color change of many fruits from 'harvest color' to ripe color, such as white to yellow, purple to brown-purple, or yellowish-green to orange-red. The shell becomes tough and firm. The seeds inside are then already brown in color, have a hard shell and can be removed from the pulp with a knife. The aubergine seeds should now be washed and dried at room temperature. They can germinate well for about 4 years if they are kept in a dry, cool and dark place. After collecting the seeds, it is time to sow the eggplant. In our article Planting aubergines you will learn everything about cultivating the seeds and planting them out.