Aubergines are a long-season crop, particularly in colder UK summers. So, in order to get the best harvest possible, you need to start them early.
For most of us, that means sowing indoors using a heated propagator in January or February. I have just sown my own Aubergines and took plenty of photos as I did it, so let me show you how!
Sowing Indoors
To sow any seeds successfully indoors, you need the right setup. For aubergines, this includes:
- Heated Propagator
- Grow Lights (sunny windowsill can work, but it needs to be the perfect, south-facing window)
You then need to choose what medium you are going to sow them in. I like to use Coir for my indoor starts. My reasons for this are a) it is a lot easier to store in the house than a bag of compost, b) it is easy to get delivered to your door, and c) you don't have to worry about fungus gnats!
I am also using these propagators I got off Amazon and a heated seed mat. I like these as they have a flexible bottom - like some ice cube trays - which makes pushing your seedlings out really simple.
I then fill the trays to the top with my compost.
I now go and place a single seed in each module, I just leave them on the surface for now so that I know I have one seed in each module.
Once I know every module has a seed I go around and push them down gently. I am only trying to get them a little below the surface, roughly 1cm.
I then cover them with compost and pop the propagator lid on.
Once the lid is on, you can give your seeds good water. Do this by watering into the tray below the seeds rather than directly onto them.
This just stops the seeds from being moved and potentially washed into a neighbouring module!
You should soon start to see lots of condensation on the propagator lid. This is a good sign and shows that it is nice and humid in your propagator.
After a week, most of my seedlings have germinated, and they are looking very healthy.
I will keep them in these modules for another couple of weeks before potting them on into single pots.
I usually put them into 10cm square pots. I like the square pots as they fit together better in my seed starting station.
All the time, my seeds will be growing under LED lights. If you want to learn more about that, I have a full article here.
Other seeds you can start now include Peppers & Onions.
What Aubergines Am I Growing
This year, I am testing out a whole lot of different varieties. Here they are:
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