Aubergine

[caseylee]

I have bought two sets of these this year, ones the normal type and purple long,should these be grown in my greenhouse or outside

[caseylee]

[calendula]

I tend to sow mine early and have done so already but I keep them at home as they like some warmth and protection before they get taken to the greenhouse to be potted on and then put into large pots for their final position

[caseylee]

I have sown mine already and put them in the house on the windowsill, when would you recommend planting them outside.  I have raised beds in my greenhouse, but also space for pots to go, are they best grown in pots and do I need to offer any support to them like string or are they bushy plants

[calendula]

depends on where you are located but not for months yet, they love and need the warmth - I also stake mine if they get big and look like they will topple but again it depends on the variety as some are quite small - generally it will be obvious if they need a bit of support as they grow - what varieties are you growing?

[caseylee]

I thinks it moneymaker ( not sure seeds packed away) and long purple

[calendula]

ok, early variety, moneymaker but there is plenty of time yet, nurture and keep warm

[caseylee]

thank you for the info, lets hope they grow, do they get very big

[calendula]

they can do, not as big as g/h tomatoes though - use a good size pot (at least 8 - 10") and I usually feed with comfrey liquid

[beckydore]

I put my seeds in about 2 weeks ago and there is suddenly one rather large looking seedling about to emerge (from a tray of about 40). Looks like the 2 leaves will be about 1cm long but I'm sure the seed was really quite small.
I'm not sure if its an aubergine or something else thats come in the compost - will have to see if I get more over the next few days!

[luckydog]

Sowed several varieties a couple of weeks ago in a heated propagator, but still no sign.  How long do they normally take to germinate?

[calendula]

they can take awhile - last year I had terrible trouble getting mine to germinate but never had that problem before and I guessed that maybe the seeds were getting old

[tim]

eg -  2007 - sown 24/2, germinated 4/3.

[laura G]

I sowed "fairytale" jan 14, they were up on the 27 jan.
laura

[debster]

im assuming that you are sowing these so early because you have a greenhouse to put them in? i guess if we want to grow them out doors they would need to be sown much later

[laura G]

Yes i do have greenhouse to put them in, but really i wanted to make sure the seeds were still viable (it would seem they are)

[Tora]

Aubergine seeds keep viable for quite a long time. I had a packet of mini aubergine seeds bought in Japan in 2000 and they germinated fine last year!  :)

[Phil]

I sowed black beauty and long purple in the bathroom on 1 January - black beauty germinated in the last week of January and long purple have germinated in the last week - i.e. 6 weeks after sowing.

[dtw]

Mine germinated quite quickly in my heated propagator, about a week.

[caseylee]

I plantedmine indoors about 2 weeks ago and still no sign of them, mut my mangetout peas are getting there and my halloween pumpkins came out today

[caseylee]

I have just checked my aubergines adn I have two tiny little stems coming up one black beauty and one is the long one.