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'Patio Baby' Aubergine Plants
Grow 🍆s in a pot, on your patio
Grown by Josh
South Downs National Park
Pre-order for delivery Late May
Pre-order for delivery Late May
The highlights
- Yields delicious, mild and delicate fruits
- Spineless and no staking required
- Rustle up a delicious brinjal curry
- Plant in spring, harvest in summer and autumn
Description
- This compact aubergine variety produces wonderfully shiny fruits roughly 7cm long
- With a delicious, mild, slightly sweet flavour profile, these diminutive purple eggs are great for layering in a moussaka, bulking out a curry, making a parmigiana, or simply roasting with some garlic, salt and thyme
- Highly ornamental, grow your aubergine plant in a pot on the patio, a sunny conservatory or a greenhouse/polytunnel to get the best results
- Easy to grow and low maintenance, this plant requires no staking, and, unlike some other aubergine varieties, has no spines, making harvesting its fruits both easy and painless!
- 'Patio Baby' is an F1 variety; these plants are bred for greater vigour and improved yields
- Plant out after the last risk of frost has passed and harvest your aubergines from August through until October
- Growing your own vegetables is better for the environment than buying from the supermarket, as these have often been imported from overseas - we think homegrown veg is tastier, too!
What To Expect
Supplied as:
Height on arrival:
Eventual height:
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Tasting notes:
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How To Grow
Good Pest And Disease Resistance
One of the most common aubergine pests is the flea beetle. These create small little holes in the leaves which, if left unchecked, can cause significant damage to the plant. To prevent flea beetles attacking your plant you can cover them in a horticultural fleece, especially while they are still young. When the plant blooms, however, you will have to remove the fleece to allow pollinating insects to ripen the fruit. You can also plant them on a raised table or on your patio as the flea beetles will be deterred from having to travel so far. If you notice aphids are an issue, then consider using a water spray to dislodge them.
Water regularly
Aubergines need to be regularly watered and the soil kept consistently moist. On hot days, the plant will need to be watered every day. If the moisture level in the soil fluctuates too much, this can cause the fruit to grow poorly and also taste bad, too. If you're unsure, simply touch the soil; if it is dry to the touch then you need to give it some water. If you're growing your aubergine plant in a greenhouse, then apply a water mist spray regularly to raise humidity and promote greater growth.
Full sun
Aubergine plants need full sun to thrive. Position them where they will get 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day.
Any fertile, moist, well-draining soil
Aubergines need fertile, moist soil that drains well. If your soil has poor drainage, consider adding some organic compost, gravel or perlite.
Feed regularly
Aubergines are particularly hungry plants which benefit from a high-potash feed every two weeks. Feed your plants when the flowers start to bloom - a good feed would be something such as organic liquid tomato feed which contains large amounts of potash. Potash, or potassium, is one of the three main elements in fertilisers along with nitrogen and phosphorus. Potash stimulates growth in the fruits and vegetables and so typically gardeners apply it as the plant begins to develop them.
Planting Calendar
- Best time to plant
- Harvest
- Flower
South Downs National Park
Meet Josh
Slow grown veg from the sunny South Downs
Our vegetable plants are sown on a family farm in Lancashire, then nurtured into strong young plants by Josh in the sunny South Downs before they rock up in your garden. By selecting only the strongest and tastiest varieties, Josh makes sure you get a headstart on your plot, with impressive crops and no waste.
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Growing with Roots
Good to know
Our plants are grown in the UK
Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.
Our plants are delivered overnight
Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 24 hours.
We're here to help at every step
We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team of experts.
Perfect plants, guaranteed
We’re confident that you’ll be delighted with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re perfectly happy.
Learn from our experts
Easy Vegetables to Grow: Our Top 10 Picks
Digging deep to answer your questions
How do I know I'm getting quality plants?
All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.
When will I get my plants?
The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.
How will my plants be packed and delivered?
We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.
Where do you deliver?
We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.
Ask the grower
One of our trusted growers will get back to you via email within 24 hours
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Excellent delivery and service
Well, the delivery was spot on, the tree looks healthy enough for a sleeping plant, although at the moment most of the branches are on one side of the trunk which in itself is bent banana-style. quite wonky. One can only hope that it grows into a fruitful plant with some character?
30 January
Nice sized tree in good condition
Time will tell on the quality of the product (bare-root apple trees), but the stems that arrived seemed in great condition and very well packaged so no damage in transit. Looking forward to Spring!
Ange
Appears v healthy
Very happy with purchase
Ms Arlene Bocking
Lovely tree
So happy with my purchase of my Braeburn Hillwell apple tree from Roots Plants. It arrived promptly, well packaged and in a good, healthy condition. I soaked it for an hour before planting and it's doing well. Looking forward to our home grown apples, in time.
Ms Arlene Bocking
It has picked up now and is growing well
It arrived in a heat wave and looked a little bit sorry for itself when planted out but it has picked up now and is growing well.
David Osborne
Good service all round
Arrived on time as the seller said it would and the courier gave me a time slot to track my parcel. It came well packaged and was of good quality for this time of year. It looks a good and healthy tree and will be planted up in a few weeks after the ground has been prepared. I’m pleased with my purchase.
Helen