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
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
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
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?
I thinks it moneymaker ( not sure seeds packed away) and long purple
ok, early variety, moneymaker but there is plenty of time yet, nurture and keep warm
thank you for the info, lets hope they grow, do they get very big
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
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!
Sowed several varieties a couple of weeks ago in a heated propagator, but still no sign. How long do they normally take to germinate?
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
eg - 2007 - sown 24/2, germinated 4/3.
I sowed "fairytale" jan 14, they were up on the 27 jan.
laura
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
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)
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! :)
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.
Mine germinated quite quickly in my heated propagator, about a week.
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
I have just checked my aubergines adn I have two tiny little stems coming up one black beauty and one is the long one.
They need lots of heat in the early stages. I put mine (Diamond) on top of the water heater at the beginning of the week, along with some peppers (Joe's Long). I then managed to drop the aubs, scraped the compost up from the floor, and stuck it back in the pot. I noticed last night that the peppers were up; the first aub emerged during the day.
I have always sowed them in March.
How do you get round the probelem of them getting tall and lanky and then collapsing if they are kept in the house?
I only have an unheated greenhouse so I guess there is no point of getting them in to it untill the frosts disappear.
So you won't be growing those on, Laura? Or will you use heat?
We can't plant in a cold 'house till end April - mid May.
I've tried planting in March, but it didn't work. It may well be that I put them out in a cold frame too early, but I remember people saying i should plant in January. I felt that was possibly a little early, so I compromised. Even if they do end up long and lanky, it won't kill them. If they're planted deep, will the stems root?
mine are ready to pot on and soon I will but plant a few in a pot, keep them on window sills, then take to the g/h asap and pot on again in their final pots
they do get a bit lanky now but I always feel they need this length of time for maturity but I've never tried sowing much later - might try it and see what happens
Once again - warm or cold 'house??
Mine will hopefully be a warm g/h by the end of this weekend. laura
Quote from: tim on February 24, 2008, 11:03:51
Once again - warm or cold 'house??
I've never bothered heating a greenhouse except to light a little fire to keep me warm when working in my glass office :D so I am always referring to a cold house
Keep them warm for the moment. I've made the mistake of putting them in a cold frame early, and they just stop growing. This year I'm keeping them on a windowsill till May.
Some of my aubergines are up! Prosperosa and Heritage mix - they took 2 weeks to germinate in a propagator.
Last year I planted them out in June and it was too late, they were just starting to flower when the first frost hit them... :( A few folks at the allotment had a great success with aubergines last year and the plants were planted out just after the last frost.
I'm thinking of putting up some kind of wind break around the plants this year so that hopefully they establish more quickly. :)
First time for aubs last year. I sowed them on 24th March. Small bush varieties only (Calliope & Little Finger). Fleeced them when the night started getting cold - last pickings early November.
Will start some earlier this year.