Growing Eggplant in a container

Learning how to grow eggplant has never been easier. Eggplants have a particularly rapid germination period so most gardeners tend to start this plant from seed. Most eggplant seeds take only one to two weeks before germination. During this time, the temperature should remain at approximately 75 degrees. After roughly two weeks, your eggplant starts should be ready to transplant into your hydroponic system. Spacing is very important, so remember to place smaller varieties 20 to 25 inches apart and larger varieties 25 to 31 inches apart. This spacing ensures your fruit has the proper amount of area to develop. Eggplants require pollination, either through self-pollination or cross-pollination from other eggplants. There are several different methods for pollination when learning to grow eggplant. Luckily, if your system is outdoors, bees and the wind will do the work for you! However, you can always help your plants get a head start on pollination by doing it manually. Use a brush to gently touch the flowers on each plant. The will allow the brush to deposit pollen from one flower to the next. After several days you should begin to see some budding fruit development.