• DELIVERY INFO: Seed potatoes & onion/shallot sets are now being shipped. Plug plants will be shipped from late April onwards. See FAQs for further info.

Aubergine – Black Beauty

£6.99

Easy to grow and deliciously tasty
Homegrown aubergines are an absolute delight. Easy to grow and delicious in flavour, finding these black jewels in your garden at harvest time is always a real treat. Aubergines are best grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel as they need the extra warmth. You could try them on a warm, sunny patio as well. They do well in pots – give them plenty of compost. You’ll receive a full growing guide with the plug plants.

Number of plants: 5 plug plants

Variety: Black Beauty (organic*)

In the kitchen: Try drizzling aubergines with olive oil and grilling over hot charcoal. Perfect with crushed garlic and chilli flakes.

THESE PLANTS WILL BE SHIPPED IN SPRING 2024

Delivery Info: Please see FAQs for up-to-date delivery info.

Planting advice: Best grown in a greenhouse. Plant plugs 30-40cm apart. Keep well watered. Harvesting: Fruits should form soon after flowering as long as they are warm enough. Harvest once they reach full size.

*Transplants suitable for organic growing.

Aubergine

Grow in a greenhouse

Aubergines are best grown in good fertile soil, with a healthy dose of sunshine, ideally in a greenhouse, conservatory or polytunnel.

Aubergine

Perfect for pots, grow bags & beds

Medium pots (approx 30cm deep) and grow bags (3 to a bag) are ideal, or grow them in raised beds with plenty of compost.

Aubergine

How far apart?

About 50cm between plants.

Aubergine

Give them support

When you plant your aubergines, pop in a bamboo cane for support and tie the plant on loosely at the stem.

Aubergine

Pinch out growing tips

Once the plant reaches 40cm height, pinch out the growing tips (this literally means to pinch off the very top part of the plant with your fingers). This will prevent it from growing further upwards and instead it will create a more compact, bushy plant.

Aubergine

Pinch off excess flowers

When it flowers, it’s a good idea to pinch off flowers to just leave 5 or 6 – this gives the fruits a better chance of growing to a good size.

Aubergine

Water & feed regularly

Keep aubergines well watered so that the soil remains consistently moist. Once the flowers & fruits start to develop, give them a good feed fortnightly – try our liquid feed.

Aubergine

When to harvest

Pick your aubergines when they’ve reached their full size, usually in late summer/early autumn. The skin should be shiny and they should give a little when squeezed. Cut them off carefully at the stem using a knife or secateurs.

Aphids

Aphids include greenfly, blackfly, whitefly and they can appear in clusters on the stems of plants. You will be able to see the tiny bugs, and you may notice yellowing leaves, distorted growth and a general stickiness as they secrete their honeydew.

  • Plant lots of marigolds and tagetes in and around plants that suffer from aphids (tomatoes and broad beans etc) – this helps to attract ladybirds and lacewings which in turn eat the aphids and keep populations down for you.
  • Place sticky, yellow things in amongst crops. A vaseline covered yellow bucket balancing upside down on a bamboo cane will work wonders…the aphids are attracted to it and will land on the bucket and get stuck there.
  • Make a garlic spray – peel some garlic cloves, slice them and boil them in water for 10 mins. Let the water cool before removing the garlic pieces. Add a little organic soap to the garlic water and spray it on vulnerable plants.
  • Give any aphid-ridden plants a good strong water spray with the garden hose to wash them off. Do this once or twice a day until the plant is aphid free.

Blossom End Rot

Caused by a calcium deficiency (that is usually due to a lack of water), blossom end rot can affect aubergine fruits – they will start to rot at the bottom.

  • Keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged.
  • In hot weather, be sure to give plants a deep watering so that the water penetrates down into the soil rather than staying at surface level where it will quickly evaporate again.
  • Add a mulch around the base of plants
  • One affected fruit doesn’t mean the whole crop will be ruined – just make sure you change the way you water the plants as soon as you spot it as the younger, undeveloped fruits still have a chance.

Red Spider Mite

These tiny mites are practically invisible to us humans, so the first thing you may notice are the mottled leaves. Prevention is definitely better than a cure – try to keep the greenhouse/polytunnel from becoming too dry as this provides a good environment for red spider mites. A little moisture in the atmosphere will help to keep them at bay. Also mist leaves (i.e lightly spray them with water) on a daily basis to prevent red spider mite.


Discoloured leaves

Pale or mottled leaves are an indication of red spider mite (see above). Other discolouration of leaves, particularly yellow, indicate a nutrient deficiency – keep plants well watered, use a liquid feed fortnightly and they should bounce back.


Storage Tips

You should harvest aubergines as you want to eat them – they will store in the fridge for a few days, but are much better cooked fresh.

Ways to cook

Aubergines are really versatile, they are great for the BBQ, delicious in tomato sauces and cooked down in a veggie lasagne, and you can make some really tasty dips with them too.

Do I need to sign for them?
All our plug plant orders are dispatched with an overnight courier* to mainland UK and do not need to be signed for when they are delivered, but will be left somewhere safe. When placing your order, please let us know where you would like the plug plants left if you are not in when the courier delivers.

We will keep you posted
You will receive an email approximately a week before your order is dispatched and another on the day your plug plants are packed and leave us so you know to expect and prepare for their arrival.