- Planting eggplant is similar to growing any pepper plant. Sensitive to cold, they should be started indoors and only transplanted outdoors once the ground is warm enough to not damage the roots and the danger of all frost has passed. Gardeningknowhow.com suggests that eggplant needs adequate space so take this into consideration when planning your garden. Eggplants enjoy full sun and warm, fertile soil. A soil rich in organic matter is optimal, and adding compost or manure is beneficial. Plastic mulch can help keep the soil warm and moist, and eggplants should be kept evenly watered especially during the fruiting phase.
- Golden Harvest Organics describes companion planting as helping to bring a balanced ecosystem to your garden. Plants all utilize a variety of substances from the surrounding environment. Some plants provide what others may need, and also give off substances to repel pests that may inhabit other plants. This can help provide a balanced system without heavy use of pesticides, and also offers a diversity in plantings, which is visually pleasing.
- If you are choosing your companion plants based on pest control, marigold is an excellent choice. It has a strong odor that repels many pests, but the color and vibrancy attracts beneficial insects such as wasps and lacewings, which can pollinate your garden. They will add color and a good contrast to the purple fruit of the eggplant, and the best choices are French marigolds.
- Good choices for vegetables to combine with eggplant include bush beans, pole beans, peas, spinach and the herbs thyme or tarragon. Pole beans can be staked and grown together, while the bush variety or spinach can be grown near the base of the plant, providing open space between the higher-growing eggplant while filling in the space closer to the ground and discouraging weeds. Create an attractive visual by planting and eggplant with a pole bean, and alternating a spinach plant or thyme between each stake. Or take a section of the eggplants and add in peas instead of beans, and use marigolds as an infusion of color. You will have a beautiful palette of colors and shapes clustered together as well as a variety of height to add diversity to your garden.
- Since eggplant is related to peppers, tomatoes and potatoes, it attracts the same type of pests. Therefore, avoid planting them in close proximity. If you grow marigolds as a pest repellent for your eggplant, it's best not to grow beans as the companion vegetable, since marigold can be an herbicide to certain beans. Finally, crops should always be alternated due to soil depletion or pest attraction, so rotate your eggplant and similar plants such as peppers out of the same area and do not grow them in the same location one after the other or in consecutive years.
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