Start sowing aubergines

They’ll fare be er if started off indoors in a heated spot now

Aubergines are one of those vegetables be er off grown in the greenhouse, as they favour mild and warm weather to establish well. So, while you can, of course, add them to your usual bout of spring sowing, it’s fine to get them going indoors in a heated spot now.

Many gardeners see it as an exotic and difficult crop to grow so avoid it, but they’re actually relatively easy – just pop plants in a pot, choose a more diseaseresistant variety, and grow as you would tomatoes indoors.

Grow them in a greenhouse in colder climates and bad weather summers and they’ll fare be er for you than outside.

Aubergines like a lot of sun so sowing early now means they’ll be more successful – more rays of light mean bigger yields. Sow in trays or pots of seed compost and cover over with another fine layer of compost or Vermiculite.

Water and then keep the seedlings at a constant temperature of around 20C (68F) – use a heated propagator if need be, but a consistently warm windowsill will do. Make sure the compost is kept moist and light levels are high while the seedlings are growing.

Carefully pot your seedlings into slightly larger containers when they get to about 3cm (1¼in) tall, then in late spring they can be put into their final spots for growing. There are so many more varieties with different tastes to choose and grow than the usual large, deep purple ones – when buying them from supermarkets there’s such a limited choice! Go for white, small, green, oval or another unusual type – we’ve listed a few to consider.