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Aubergines

Fun to grow, delicious to eat, aubergines are an essential ingredient of many Mediterranean dishes. We take you back to basics to show you how to get the best from your crop

Pests and diseases


Onions

Aphids (greenfly) cause mottling and puckering of the leaves. Spray with a suitable insecticide or rub off with the fingers, checking regularly for fresh attacks, especially in spring.

Red spider mite overwinters in cracks and crevices during the winter and emerges to infest plants in the spring. Cleaning and fumigating the structure and staging in the autumn can help to reduce problems later on.

Spraying over the foliage with water deters the pest and restricts its movement through the crop, otherwise use a suitable insecticide at the first sign of attack. Biological control is effective using phytoseiulus providing that the predator, a mite, is introduced early on.

Whitefly appears in the greenhouse in the spring, and will migrate outdoors during the summer. They can be difficult to control since they are resistant to most insecticides available from garden centres. The alternative in the greenhouse or polytunnel, apart from hanging sticky yellow traps among the crop to reduce numbers, is to introduce encarsia – a tiny parasitic wasp. When introduced before the whitefly gets out of hand, this can be very effective.

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Aubergines, or eggplants to give them their common name, are becoming increasingly popular as an ingredient of ratatouille and moussaka, but also grilled, stewed, casseroled, fried and used in many other ways. The flesh has a unique, almost meaty texture which tends to absorb the flavour of any ingredients with which it is cooked.

Propagation

Aubergines need a long growing season to crop well in our relatively short summers. Sow from January to the end of April in a heated propagator on a sunny windowsill or greenhouse bench, maintaining 15-21C (60-70F). Sowing into cell trays or small pots prevents the need for pricking out later on and reduces root disturbance.

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Germination takes approximately seven-10 days and once most of the seedlings have emerged, remove the lid of the propagator to prevent stretching. Take plants out of the propagator but maintain 15C (60F) in the early stages reducing to 10C (50F) as plants establish.

Growing on

Once plants are well established pot them on into progressively larger pots until you reach a maximum of 15cm (6in) – adequate for most varieties. A good multi-purpose or potting compost is ideal for this – alternatively you can grow three plants in a growing-bag.

Pinching out the growing tips is not essential to make plants bush out, but can be done once they reach 30cm (12in) if necessary. Take care when handling plants as many varieties bear very sharp spines on their stems and the calyx (bud covering) behind the blooms.

Once they have been in their final pots for a few weeks apply a high potash tomato feed once a week or at half strength every watering.

As plants come into flower and weather permitting they can be moved outside to encourage pollination by bees and other insects as this is often a bit hit and miss during a cool, wet summer in the greenhouse. Tapping stems or pollinating by hand using a camel-hair brush is also an option, but rarely as effective.

Harvesting

The first fruit should be ready to harvest from July and cutting continues until the first frost. Once the fruit has reached full size, but is still glossy, snip it off with scissors or secateurs. Use the fruit as soon as possible although they will store well for a few weeks in the refrigerator. Don’t keep them for too long, old fruit tends to take on a bitter, acidic flavour.

For more see this month's issue, available to buy online!