~ Seed for Very Early AUBERGINES ~
It was 2002 when we started looking for early aubergines, asking collectors around the world for their earliest & most reliable.
The 'best of the best' are offered here - ultra-early aubergines with a good chance of a decent crop in the variable UK summers. We've had really nice letters from people who haven't been able to grow aubergines until they tried these varieties.
Aubergines are a little slower growing than their
near relatives the Tomatoes & Peppers.
The key point is to start them off early with some heat and then grow on in a greenhouse/polytunnel.
Sowing Information
When to sow aubergine seed? You must start it really early, under cover, and keep the seeds warm until they germinate - for example in a propagator or in your airing cupboard.
Tsakoniki Striped Aubergine - GUEST VARIETY FOR TRIAL
A traditional aubergine from the ancient mountainous region of Tsakonia in Greece, chosen for its elongated-oval fruit that are pointy at both ends. Quite large plants to about 80cm tall, productive in a polytunnel or greenhosue.
A guest variety for trial - let us know how it does for you!
£
Ronde de Valence
Another traditional and early variety that makes large black fruit. They are round-to-oval , gently ribbed, and it does really well under cover in the UK.
Large rounded black fruit, white flesh.
20 seed £
Long Purple
A very well-known variety making longer thinner fruit , that are (unsurprisingly) deep purple . This particular version of it is maintained by the seedhouse of Pieterpikzonen in The Netherlands, and so is selected for European conditions.
Long deep-purple fruit, white flesh.
20 seed £
De Barbentane
A great medium-sized cylindrical aubergine from France, with firm white flesh. We have always found it quick to get going and the plants are very sturdy.This variety was bred for outdoor growing (in France, so we in the UK still need to grow it under cover) and it doesn't require the high temperatures that glasshouse aubergines are used to.
Earliness, consistently high production and good flavour make this one of our favourites.
Long black fruit, white flesh.
22 seed £
Black Beauty
Our star producer in 2016, Black Beauty is a modern early aubergine that produces really fat fruit on nice sturdy plants. Like all aubergines, requires a polytunnel or greenhouse, but it can make really huge fruit when its happy, the picture here on the car bonnet has a pound coin for scale!
Pear-shaped fat black fat fruit.
22 seed £
Diamond - BACK IN STOCK (AFTER 12 YEARS!)
This great plant produces nice plump black fruit 3" x 6" long, with soft flesh & not a hint of bitterness. From the Ukraine, it is well adapted to cooler/shorter summers, and is always productive for us, with a very good flavour.
In this picture, taken in our polytunnel in Wales in the terrible summer of 2012, you can see the plants are just loaded with fruit - and they weren't even started in a propagator!
We are so pleased to be able to offer this aubergine once again. We last offered seed of it in 2013 and it was fantastic but we just hadn't managed to grow any since then. We now have new seed and hope you all enjoy trying this one out.
Early & prolific, adapted to UK conditions!
18 seed £
"Krasan" Early Aubergine HEAVY CROPPING
Here's another super-early Czech-bred aubergine for you to try out, this time with a fatter rounder shape.
It is from the same breeder as our incredibly sucessful thinner "Czech Early" variety, so we have high hopes for it, and are pleased to have some fresh seed for you to try this year. Needs to be grown under cover but if we get at least some sun it should do well for you.
In our 2025 trials this did incredibly well with fruit ready to harvest at the start of June!
about 20 seed £
Sowing Information
Grow under cover. In trials we’ve had fantastic results with heavy crops, but note that the fruit vary in colour, with both cream-pink and black fruit on the same plant. We think it depends on temperatures.
Saving your own Aubergine Seed:
Ben demonstrates: Here you can see the seed squidged
out of a very ripe fruit - this is best done in a bowl of water -
then rinsed through a sieve, and tapped out onto
a plate to dry.
Aubergines do cross quite a lot, so you need to grow only one variety - or isolate plants (or branches) with a net cage.
