Get Planting .... aubergines for an exotic touch

Everyone loves to try something a little different from time to time, and aubergines can bring a touch of subtropical magic to summer.

Growing your own always provides a sense of achievement, irrespective of how many fruits are produced. Their fruits come in a range of colours, from traditional dark purple, pale green to pure white, bi-coloured or pinstriped, with shapes including oval, pear and banana forms.

Although they need consistent warmth to do well, aubergines will fruit successfully outdoors, particularly if you choose varieties with smaller fruit, such as ‘Jackpot’ and ‘Pot Black’. They’re bred for cooler, variable British summers and if you give them your warmest, sunniest spot, such as a sheltered patio where they can be grown in pots or in growing bags, they’ll be perfectly happy.

Given the protection of a greenhouse or conservatory, they’ll crop more productively and for longer when the summer season starts to close. They take time to get going so, like peppers and chillies, need to be sown early under glass or on a windowsill in the next month, or alternatively order ready-grown plug plants from online retailers to get off to a flying start. Sow seeds at a temperature of 18-21C (65-70F) and when large enough to handle prick out into 7.5-10cm (3-4in) pots and grow on in warmth, keeping compost moist. When roots have filled the pot, transfer to a growing bag or a 30cm (1ft) pot and stake plants at 30cm (1ft) tall. Place pots or plant outdoors after hardening off in late May after cold nights are not a risk (use fleece to protect plants if they are).

Feed with a balanced liquid fertiliser or tomato food and keep plants moist. Harvest as fruits ripen to encourage more, but if growing larger-fruited types outdoors its best to stop the crop at four fruits to ensure ripening.