Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-6 Experience)
Eggplants are already putting out flower buds after the 7th leaf. Looks like I need to start them from seed at the same time as my main crop tomatoes.
Posted April 24, 2021 by Nata N.:
Eggplants are already putting out flower buds after the 7th leaf.
That’s just for you in your setup, ’cause you’ve got them well-fed and under good lights. I could probably hold off on sowing my dwarf tomatoes too, they’re getting tall, but it’s way too early to put them in the dirt. Supposed to be partly sunny today, but it’s cold and cloudy… barely hit 64°F (18°C) in the greenhouse.
Posted April 24, 2021 by Nata N.:
Eggplants are already putting out flower buds after the 7th leaf. Looks like I need to start them from seed at the same time as my main crop tomatoes
For mid-May planting, I sow my eggplants in mid-March. This year I sowed on the 18th, 4 days later than last year. But last year we put them outdoors under row cover on May 11th! Very early for eggplants, at least a week ahead of schedule. And the seedlings were at the perfect stage for planting out. Honestly, if tomatoes are perfect for moving to their final spot at 45 days under lights, eggplants need 50-55. You gotta factor in up-potting and pricking out, transplant shock eats up a couple of days anyway, sometimes a week. So 60 days before planting out is totally fine. And they adapt to the garden really fast and start fruiting super early. My Mirval started producing before my greenhouse tomatoes… even earlier than the zucchini direct-sown in the dirt… And man, that root system! Last year they outperformed the tomatoes. My dad didn’t even try pulling them last fall, just left them to catch the snow *. He was digging them out recently and cursing like a sailor, you literally have to grub them out, the root system is massive and deep, even after wintering over. God I love eggplants.
Edited April 24, 2021 by Oksana Evgenievna
Posted April 24, 2021 by Oksana Evgenievna:
So 60 days before planting out is totally fine.
That’s probably how it’s gonna play out for me too, since they’re calling for cold weather until early May at least. But even now at 1.5 months they’re totally ready to go in the ground: straight up elephants, not seedlings. If they gotta stay in pots another 2 weeks, I’ll probably have to up-pot them into bigger tubs. And how on earth am I gonna haul them all out later?!? 😫
I gotta disagree with you on the 2 months thing, that’s overkill. Lugging tubs of 2-month-old eggplants around is physically brutal. By the way, commercial greenhouse guys plant eggplants at 5 leaves, not 7. So basically 30-day-old plants.
Full Summary: Eggplant Seed Starting Timeline
- 🌿 Seedling Age: Nata N. finds that at 45 days, eggplants are already huge and budding under strong lights, arguing that 30 days is closer to commercial greenhouse standards. Oksana Evgenievna prefers a 60-day start to account for the shock of pricking out and up-potting.
- 📈 Root Development: Eggplants develop incredibly strong, deep root systems. Oksana notes they can outperform tomatoes and are notoriously difficult to pull out at the end of the season.
- 🌱 Management: Starting seeds too early can lead to heavy, oversized plants (“elephants”) that require moving into larger tubs and are physically exhausting to haul outside for transplanting.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Three veteran growers from USDA Zones 4 and 6 discussing indoor seed starting under grow lights.
Leaving dead stalks and plant skeletons in the garden over winter to “catch the snow” is a common practice in colder, wind-swept regions (like the steppes of Eastern Europe and the US Northern Plains). It traps drifting snow, which insulates the soil over winter and provides deep moisture when it melts in the spring.
