Sow Aubergines Between January And March Indoors – Emily Cupit Shows How
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
Contributions From EMILY CUPIT
Emily is a Gardening Writer, Photographer and Videographer from Derbyshire, UK. She is the Founder of Emily's Green Diary - a community of more than 75,000 people who share in her gardening journey.
IN THIS GUIDE
Growing your own aubergines from seed is certainly not the simplest of gardening jobs.
However, as long as you can provide plenty of sunshine and warmth for this heat-loving crop through the summer months, it is possible.
New cultivars make it a little easier for gardeners in the British Isles to grow aubergines at home.
Sow aubergine seeds indoors early in the year for the best chances of a successful harvest later in the year.
Seeds are typically sown between January and March indoors, or occasionally, in the very warmest areas, in April outside where they are to grow.
To grow aubergines from seed:
- Choose and source your aubergine seeds.
- Decide where to sow and grow your aubergines.
- Prepare the sowing areas.
- Sow your aubergine seeds in a heated propagator or warm location indoors.
- Grow on indoors then pot up or plant out between April and early June (depending on growing location).
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Equipment Required | Pots, seed-starting compost, aubergine seeds, heated propagator (optional) |
| When To Sow | January to March (indoors), March to April (outdoors) |
When To Sow Aubergines
Aubergines, even those best suited to UK cultivation, do need as long a growing season as possible.
Therefore, it is usually best to sow the seeds early in the year, most commonly indoors.
When precisely you should sow depends on where your aubergines will be growing.
If you will be growing in a heated greenhouse, January sowing is typically recommended.
For an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel, sometime in February or early March is generally best.
If you plan to grow aubergines outside, then waiting until early March to sow your seeds is generally recommended.
1) Choose & Source Your Aubergine Seeds
Of course, if you want to grow aubergines from seed then the first step will be to source your seeds in the first place.
Choosing an aubergine variety suited to growing in the cooler British climate is important.
Some good options include ‘Bonita’, ‘Clara’, ‘Garline’ and ‘Kaberi’, all of which have an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.
You can see that I have chosen to grow ‘Black Beauty’.
2) Decide Where To Sow & Grow
Once you have your seeds and ideally before you even consider growing aubergines, you need to think carefully about where you will sow and grow these plants.
It is important to make sure that you have a suitable spot for sowing and a suitable location to grow the crop.
To sow aubergines, you need to have a location for sowing where temperatures can be maintained between 18-21°C.
Typically, this will be a location within your home in a heated space or in a heated propagator – a piece of equipment that will greatly increase your chances of successful germination.
To grow aubergines, you need to have a warm spot too.
Aubergines are sun and heat-loving plants that will do best during warm summers or undercover here in the UK.
They will usually perform best in a greenhouse or an unheated polytunnel, though aubergines can be grown outside in the mildest and warmest regions of the south.
3) Prepare The Containers For Sowing
Once you have a plan in place for where you will sow and grow aubergines where you live, you can think about sowing your seeds.
As mentioned above, when you sow will depend on where you plan to grow.
But in all cases, aubergine seeds are sown in pots or modules filled with a suitable peat-free seed starting compost.
Prepare your containers, growing medium and heated propagator (if you have one), ensuring that they are ready for sowing.
4) Sow Your Aubergine Seeds
Sow the seeds into moist seed-starting compost, covering them lightly.
Remember to place them in a propagator or another spot with temperatures between 18-21°C.
Keep them in this warm location until they germinate, then move to a sunny windowsill or under grow lights so they do not get leggy from lack of light.
5) Pot Up Seedlings Or Plant Out
Grow aubergine seedlings indoors, then pot up in 9-23cm pots when the pots are filled with roots that are just beginning to emerge from the holes at the base.
This is typically done in April if you are growing in a heated greenhouse, in early May if sowing undercover but in an unheated space and in late May or early June if they are growing outdoors.
Aubergines can also be planted in the ground in the very warmest, sunniest and most sheltered areas in the south.
“Growing in a polytunnel or greenhouse will dramatically increase the prospects for aubergines in most UK locations,” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“They prefer stable, warm conditions with plenty of light and will not like prolonged spells of wet, cool weather that are a feature of UK summers.”
Only plant out once there is absolutely no risk of frost and, ideally, warm the soil with cloches or row covers before planting.
