Growing in Rutherglen

Best time to plant eggplant in Rutherglen

Solanum melongena

Also called aubergine, brinjal

Sow eggplant in Rutherglen in Nov.

Eggplant, also called aubergine or brinjal, is a nightshade relative of tomato and potato. Its fruit, botanically a berry and most often purple, is usually cooked, with spongy flesh that soaks up oil and flavours. The skin and seeds are edible as well.

When to sow in Rutherglen

Rutherglen, VIC is in the arid zone. The zone also plants in Aug to Oct, Dec to Jan, but Rutherglen's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.

Broadly matches local guides, with some differences.

Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.

Frost in Rutherglen

Frost usually arrives in Rutherglen around early April and finishes by early November. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid March or as late as mid December, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.

From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.

On a shared plot: suits a plot

Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.

Growing details

How to start
Sow directly or raise seedlings
Sowing depth
5mm
Plant spacing
30cm
Row spacing
60cm
Height
50cm
Germination
Soil 24-32°C
Time to harvest
60 days
Frost
Frost tender
Sun
Full sun
Life cycle
perennial, grown as an annual in cool climates

These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.

Eggplant elsewhere

Eggplant across Australia