Sowing starts here.
Discover what you can sow and plant now. Or find a vegetable and see how to give it a good start.
What can you sow now?
Ideas for the rest of november still to sow or plant.
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Guide periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, sufficient light and measured soil and air temperatures.What would you like to grow?
Find a vegetable or browse the species. See when you can start and which approach suits your propagation space.
A good start: warmth and light
Warm sowing can be done indoors or in a heated greenhouse. After germination, every seedling needs enough light. A dark attic needs grow lights. An unheated greenhouse can become very cold at night: measure the temperature and check the advice for your crop.
1 of 108 species and crop groups
AubergineStart under cover in warmthFebruary–March
February–MarchStart indoors in warmth and reserve enough bright space for raising plants.
- Germination and temperature
- Germination: at least around 21 °C. Growing on: bright conditions at about 16–18 °C.
- After emergence
- Give seedlings light immediately after emergence. A dark loft needs suitable grow lights; warmth alone is insufficient. Ventilate and keep the compost moist without saturating it.
- Pricking out and potting on
- Prick out once the first true leaves are manageable. Hold a seedling by a leaf. Pot on when the roots fill the root ball.
- Hardening off and planting out
- Gradually acclimatise indoor-raised plants to sun, wind and outdoor temperatures; shelter them again on cold nights. A heated greenhouse can be used in April; an unheated greenhouse later in spring, and outdoors only after frost with sustained warmth.
January is an option only with a suitable heated growing-on space and enough light. For outdoor growing, generally start in March.
Sources and use
Royal Horticultural Society · Aubergines kweken ↗Soort- of productgebonden bron; buitenlandse perioden zijn geen vaste Nederlandse zaaidatum.
Utah State University Extension · Eggplant in the garden ↗Soort- of productgebonden bron; buitenlandse perioden zijn geen vaste Nederlandse zaaidatum.
Guideline periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, available light, soil and measured temperatures. Greenhouse heating does not guarantee enough winter light.