University of Illinois Extension
Illinois Vegetable Garden Guide
Eggplant
Eggplants are grown much like tomatoes, but they are spaced closer together and are not staked.
Fruit rot is sometimes a problem but it can be controlled by growing resistant varieties. Wilt-resistant varieties are also available. Flea beetles are usually very abundant on eggplant.
Harvest the fruits while they are still glossy.
| Crop | Amount for 100 ft of row |
Variety recommended for use in Illinois | Days to harvest | Resistant to |
| Eggplant (plants) | 50-75 | Dusky | 56 | |
| Black Magic | 80 | |||
| Classic | 76 | |||
| Black Beauty | 80 | |||
| Burpee Hybrid | 70 |
| Vegetable | Hardiness | Recommended planting period for central Illinois (b) | Time to grow from seed to field (c) | |
| For overall Use |
For storage |
|||
| weeks | ||||
| Eggplant | Very tender | May 10-June 15 | ... | 8-10 |
| Vegetable | Spacing in row | |||
| Seed to sow per foot | Distance between plants when thinned or transplanted | Distance between rows | Planting depth | |
| inches | inches | inches | ||
| Eggplant | ….. | 18-24 | 30-36 | (d) |
