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How to grow aubergines

Frost-tender · Nightshade family

When to sow and plant

  • Start indoors 11–25 March
  • Plant out 6–20 May

Frost-tender: everything 17 days later, so it only goes outside once there is no frost in 9 out of 10 years.

Based on: average for Germany, last frost 19 April, safe from 6 May

Planting calendar for your area
Where the dates come from

The weeks come from our sources; the dates use the average frost in Germany. Enter a German postcode to get dates for your area.

  • Start indoors: 6–8 weeks before the last frost (Penn State Extension: Eggplant in the Garden and the Kitchen)
  • Plant out: 0–2 weeks after the last frost (University of Maryland Extension: Growing Eggplant in a Home Garden)

Good and bad neighbours

We don’t know any sourced neighbours for this plant yet.

Crop rotation

After the nightshade family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years.

  • The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.
  • Example: grown here in 2026, again from 2031.
  • Heavy feeders two years in a row on the same bed are not a mistake, but they take more out of the soil.

At a glance

Family
Nightshade family (Solanaceae)
Nutrient needs
Heavy feeder
Frost
Tender to frost
Spacing (row × plant)
61 × 61 cm (24 × 24 in)
Plants per m²
2.7
Per square foot (30 × 30 cm)
1 plant
Life cycle
Annual
Harvest
After 65–80 days from planting

Spacing according to USU Extension: How to Grow Eggplant in Your Garden. Other sources: – × 60 cm (– × 24 in) (RHS: How to grow aubergines).

Questions and answers

When can I plant out aubergines?

Plant out, average for Germany: 6–20 May. That is the date after which there is no frost in 9 out of 10 years. Enter a German postcode above for your area, or your own frost date in the planting calendar.

How far apart should I plant aubergines?

61 × 61 cm (24 × 24 in) (row × plant), according to USU Extension: How to Grow Eggplant in Your Garden.

How long a break do aubergines need in the same bed?

After the nightshade family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years. The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.

More from the nightshade family

Sources

Show 8 sources
  1. Südtiroler Bauernbund: Merkblatt Fruchtfolgen im Gemüsebau (Oktober 2022)
  2. RHS: How to grow aubergines
  3. University of Maryland Extension: Growing Eggplant in a Home Garden
  4. USU Extension: How to Grow Eggplant in Your Garden
  5. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: Square Foot Gardening Guide (2020)
  6. Penn State Extension: Eggplant in the Garden and the Kitchen
  7. Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein: Fruchtfolge im Garten (Gartenmerkblatt, 2020)
  8. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (über die GBIF-API, species/match)

Retrieved on 23 October 2026. Facts in our own words, one source per value.