Eggplant Pollen

[Karen Watson]

I just moved and decide to plant a little garden last month so just to get started I grabbed a few small plants but now I'm wondering if I made a mistake. I only got one eggplant. Will the the flowers germinate each other on one plant or do I need to sneak into another garden for some pollen?

 

[ChanellG]

Karen, a second plant isn't a guarantee; you may have to take a paintbrush and pollinate them yourself, but if you have some pots with zinnias, marigolds or other flowers that attract beneficial insects that you can temporarily sit near the eggplant, nature just may do the work for you.

 

[Karen Watson]

Thanks Chanell
I was trying to remember high school biology, to no avail. I guess you only need more than one plant to ensure genetic diversification so a single plant can pollinate it's self. There are plenty of other flowers near the eggplant and I have seen lost of flying insects around them so hopefully I will be posting about my little crop!

 

[ChanellG]

You're welcome, and good luck! A second plant wouldn't hurt if you have the room, but so far I haven't heard anything about one being necessary. My mom wasn't seeing any eggplants for a while on her plants and I pestered her about getting more flowers. Now we're harvesting fruit from them (she does have a few plants though).