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Eggplant

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When to plant eggplant

Needs the warmest spot you have; in cool summers it does far better under cover.

Photo: Joydeep, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Tender: killed by frost. Goes out 2–3 weeks after the average last frost.
Start indoors
8–10 weeks before planting out
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 18°C64°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 35°C95°F while it matures (flowers drop)
Days to harvest
About 80 days from planting out in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 6 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
72 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Miami, January 1
Latest start (north)
Salt Lake City, June 29
Can go in this week
7 cities
No outdoor window
San Francisco, Seattle, Anchorage, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hobart

Eggplant: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
MiamiFlorida
HonoluluHawaii
TampaFlorida
OrlandoFlorida
PhoenixArizona
HoustonTexas
JacksonvilleFlorida
San AntonioTexas
New OrleansLouisiana
AustinTexas
TucsonArizona
Las VegasNevada
DallasTexas
CharlestonSouth Carolina
El PasoTexas
Little RockArkansas
BirminghamAlabama
AtlantaGeorgia
MemphisTennessee
Los AngelesCalifornia
FresnoCalifornia
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
CharlotteNorth Carolina
TulsaOklahoma
NashvilleTennessee
RaleighNorth Carolina
RichmondVirginia
SacramentoCalifornia
St. LouisMissouri
LouisvilleKentucky
San DiegoCalifornia
BaltimoreMaryland
Kansas CityMissouri
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
CincinnatiOhio
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
IndianapolisIndiana
San JoseCalifornia
ColumbusOhio
OmahaNebraska
PittsburghPennsylvania
Des MoinesIowa
New YorkNew York
ClevelandOhio
MinneapolisMinnesota
DetroitMichigan
ChicagoIllinois
BostonMassachusetts
DenverColorado
FargoNorth Dakota
MadisonWisconsin
MilwaukeeWisconsin
BoiseIdaho
MontrealQuebec
TorontoOntario
BuffaloNew York
OttawaOntario
BurlingtonVermont
BillingsMontana
PortlandMaine
WinnipegManitoba
SpokaneWashington
PortlandOregon
Salt Lake CityUtah
Southern hemisphere
BrisbaneQueensland
SydneyNew South Wales
PerthWestern Australia
AdelaideSouth Australia
MelbourneVictoria
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory
AucklandNew Zealand

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow indoorsPlant outHarvest
Miami FloridaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu HawaiiOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Tampa FloridaDec 14 – Jan 18Feb 22 – Dec 13Jan 1 – Dec 31
Orlando FloridaDec 18 – Jan 22Feb 26 – Dec 8May 4 – Apr 29
Phoenix ArizonaJan 7 – Jan 31Mar 18 – Mar 28May 19 – Jul 6
Houston TexasJan 9 – Feb 13Mar 20 – Sep 25May 22 – Dec 27
Jacksonville FloridaJan 11 – Feb 15Mar 22 – Oct 6May 24 – Feb 27
San Antonio TexasJan 11 – Feb 15, May 11 – Jun 15Mar 22 – May 20, Jul 20 – Sep 14May 23 – Aug 25, Sep 14 – Dec 2
New Orleans LouisianaJan 14 – Feb 18Mar 25 – Sep 25May 27 – Jan 7
Austin TexasJan 19 – Feb 23, May 12 – Jun 16Mar 30 – May 22, Jul 21 – Sep 11May 31 – Aug 27, Sep 15 – Dec 2
Tucson ArizonaJan 20 – Feb 11, Jun 5 – Jul 10Mar 31 – Apr 8, Aug 14 – Sep 16Jun 1 – Jul 17, Oct 9 – Dec 8
Las Vegas NevadaJan 28 – Feb 20Apr 8 – Apr 17Jun 8 – Jul 25
Dallas TexasJan 29 – Mar 5, May 9 – Jun 13Apr 9 – May 18, Jul 18 – Sep 5Jun 9 – Aug 23, Sep 12 – Nov 26
Charleston South CarolinaFeb 4 – Mar 11Apr 15 – Sep 8Jun 16 – Dec 6
El Paso TexasFeb 5 – Feb 24, May 4 – Jun 8Apr 16 – Apr 21, Jul 13 – Aug 30Jun 16 – Jul 30, Sep 7 – Nov 18
Little Rock ArkansasFeb 10 – Mar 17Apr 21 – Aug 22Jun 21 – Nov 9
Birmingham AlabamaFeb 12 – Mar 19Apr 23 – Aug 23Jun 23 – Nov 10
Atlanta GeorgiaFeb 14 – Mar 21Apr 25 – Aug 20Jun 25 – Nov 7
Memphis TennesseeFeb 14 – Mar 21Apr 25 – Aug 22Jun 24 – Nov 11
Los Angeles CaliforniaFeb 14 – Mar 21Apr 25 – Oct 6Jul 5 – Feb 27
Fresno CaliforniaFeb 14 – Mar 10, Jun 3 – Jul 5Apr 25 – May 5, Aug 12 – Aug 30Jun 25 – Aug 12, Oct 7 – Nov 19
Oklahoma City OklahomaFeb 15 – Mar 22, Apr 21 – May 26Apr 26 – Jun 2, Jun 30 – Aug 17Jun 26 – Nov 1
Charlotte North CarolinaFeb 17 – Mar 24Apr 28 – Aug 16Jun 28 – Nov 2
Tulsa OklahomaFeb 19 – Mar 26, Apr 18 – May 23Apr 30 – Jun 10, Jun 27 – Aug 17Jun 29 – Nov 3
Nashville TennesseeFeb 20 – Mar 27May 1 – Aug 16Jun 30 – Nov 2
Raleigh North CarolinaFeb 22 – Mar 29May 3 – Aug 16Jul 3 – Nov 3
Richmond VirginiaFeb 25 – Apr 1May 6 – Aug 14Jul 5 – Nov 3
Sacramento CaliforniaFeb 25 – Apr 1May 6 – Aug 27Jul 7 – Nov 18
St. Louis MissouriFeb 27 – Apr 3May 8 – Aug 9Jul 7 – Oct 25
Louisville KentuckyFeb 28 – Apr 4May 9 – Aug 11Jul 8 – Oct 30
San Diego CaliforniaMar 1 – Apr 5May 10 – Sep 29Jul 22 – Feb 20
Baltimore MarylandMar 3 – Apr 7May 12 – Aug 11Jul 11 – Oct 31
Kansas City MissouriMar 3 – Apr 7May 12 – Aug 7Jul 11 – Oct 25
Washington District of ColumbiaMar 4 – Apr 8May 13 – Aug 11Jul 12 – Oct 31
Albuquerque New MexicoMar 4 – Apr 8May 13 – Aug 8Jul 12 – Oct 27
Cincinnati OhioMar 6 – Apr 10May 15 – Aug 5Jul 14 – Oct 24
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaMar 9 – Apr 13May 18 – Aug 8Jul 17 – Oct 28
Indianapolis IndianaMar 10 – Apr 14May 19 – Aug 3Jul 18 – Oct 22
San Jose CaliforniaMar 10 – Apr 14May 19 – Aug 29Jul 26 – Dec 2
Columbus OhioMar 12 – Apr 16May 21 – Aug 1Jul 20 – Oct 21
Omaha NebraskaMar 13 – Apr 17May 22 – Jul 30Jul 20 – Oct 17
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaMar 14 – Apr 18May 23 – Jul 30Jul 23 – Oct 20
Des Moines IowaMar 15 – Apr 19May 24 – Jul 28Jul 23 – Oct 16
New York New YorkMar 18 – Apr 22May 27 – Aug 4Jul 26 – Oct 27
Cleveland OhioMar 19 – Apr 23May 28 – Jul 29Jul 28 – Oct 19
Minneapolis MinnesotaMar 22 – Apr 26May 31 – Jul 19Jul 30 – Oct 9
Detroit MichiganMar 23 – Apr 27Jun 1 – Jul 25Aug 1 – Oct 15
Chicago IllinoisMar 25 – Apr 29Jun 3 – Jul 26Aug 3 – Oct 16
Boston MassachusettsMar 27 – May 1Jun 5 – Jul 26Aug 5 – Oct 17
Denver ColoradoMar 27 – May 1Jun 5 – Jul 21Aug 3 – Oct 7
Fargo North DakotaMar 29 – May 3Jun 7 – Jul 11Aug 7 – Sep 29
Madison WisconsinMar 30 – May 4Jun 8 – Jul 16Aug 11 – Oct 9
Milwaukee WisconsinApr 1 – May 6Jun 10 – Jul 19Aug 12 – Oct 11
Boise IdahoApr 1 – May 6Jun 10 – Jul 26Aug 9 – Oct 14
Montreal QuebecApr 2 – May 7Jun 11 – Jul 13Aug 15 – Oct 5
Toronto OntarioApr 3 – May 8Jun 12 – Jul 16Aug 16 – Oct 8
Buffalo New YorkApr 4 – May 9Jun 13 – Jul 18Aug 18 – Oct 13
Ottawa OntarioApr 4 – May 9Jun 13 – Jul 8Aug 19 – Oct 1
Burlington VermontApr 8 – May 13Jun 17 – Jul 14Aug 22 – Oct 8
Billings MontanaApr 8 – May 13Jun 17 – Jul 14Aug 16 – Oct 2
Portland MaineApr 9 – May 14Jun 18 – Jul 11Aug 24 – Oct 7
Winnipeg ManitobaApr 11 – May 3Jun 20 – Jun 28Aug 28 – Sep 21
Spokane WashingtonApr 15 – May 13Jun 24 – Jul 8Aug 30 – Oct 1
Portland OregonApr 18 – May 19Jun 27 – Jul 14Sep 9 – Oct 17
Salt Lake City UtahApr 20 – May 25Jun 29 – Jul 31Aug 24 – Oct 17
Brisbane QueenslandJul 7 – Aug 11Sep 15 – Apr 18Nov 19 – Sep 9
Sydney New South WalesAug 12 – Sep 16Oct 21 – Mar 17Jan 1 – Aug 7
Perth Western AustraliaAug 15 – Sep 19Oct 24 – Apr 3Dec 29 – Aug 24
Adelaide South AustraliaAug 28 – Oct 2Nov 6 – Feb 22Jan 15 – Jun 12
Melbourne VictoriaSep 24 – Oct 29Dec 3 – Feb 9Feb 13 – May 29
Canberra Australian Capital TerritorySep 30 – Nov 4Dec 9 – Jan 22Feb 17 – Apr 30
Auckland New ZealandOct 2 – Nov 6Dec 11 – Feb 12Feb 23 – Jun 10
San Francisco CaliforniaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Seattle WashingtonNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Anchorage AlaskaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
London EnglandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Birmingham EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Manchester EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Bristol EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Cardiff WalesSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Edinburgh ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Glasgow ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Belfast Northern IrelandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Dublin IrelandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Vancouver British ColumbiaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Calgary AlbertaThe frost-free season is too short outdoors (it needs about 108 days). Grow under cover, or choose early varieties.
Edmonton AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Halifax Nova ScotiaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Hobart TasmaniaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.

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