Kitchen Garden Forum

Another question....( I have been storing them up having not been near the forum for a while )

My aubergines are growing in a little plastic type greenhouse... planted directly in well manured ground... the flowers duly appeared ... seemed to set v small fruits and then promptly dropped off.

I keep them watered well enough , and at times in the very hot weather it got quite hot and steamy in there....

I wonder if it is just too much nitrogen in the manured soil ... therefore lots of lush green growth ... but they did produce flowers .. very pretty they are too !

Any ideas ??

thanks a lot
yummyveggies

Hi there yummy-v!
Did you mist you auby's at all? this really helps the fruits set. I do this every year and always get a bumper crop. Mine are in a partly glazed greenhouse, direct in well manured soil, so similar to yours. There are plenty of fruits on mine (sorry!) So, try misting them either with the hose if you can, or a fine rose on a watering can will do the job nicely!
Good luck

Mine are very slow this year. the only good thing is we're not fed up of eating them!

Hi there yummy-v!

I can't offer a direct explanation. However I have tried aubergines in pots in our greenhouse for the last three years.

I always get loads of beautiful purple flowers and usually at least one or two fruit. However they seem to take forever, never grow very big and taste.....almost the same as the shop ones. Call me a wimp, but I lostpatience with them this year.

Perhaps someone else can tell us the secret? High humidity is defintely the answer to getting the fruit to set, but you say you managed to get that far...

yes as you say the fruit set ... then don't develop ... holding my breath as two have set and are still on the plants ... so maybe my 8 plants will yield 2 aubergines (!)

Mine have done exceptionally well this year. Grown outside in full sun in a fairly well protected position.
I kept them well watered and fed throughout the really hot spell and have been very generous with feeding them this year. Maybe it was just too hot in greenhouses during the heatwave? I know I had lots of problems with arrested growth and non germination because of the heat.

Have your tiny fruit actually fallen off? If not water and give them a good feed with a seaweed based fertiliser. You've still time to see some fruit this year.

Count me in for having a naff year with Aubergines !

Normally, I do pretty fair to middling, but this year it seems that every red spider mite in the entire universe has descended on us and brought their world, their wife and their auntie.