When to plant eggplants in Florence: 28 May – 7 August

In Florence, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 8 March to 8 June; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 7 August; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 7 August.

Eggplant in Florence: soil, season and weather

In Florence the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 23 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 28 May, 66 days later.

Last spring frost	23 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	28 May, 66 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 May – 7 August; May outside: 10.8 °C at night, 21.9 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	27 November, 183 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	6 August – 16 October
Days left for picking	113
Daylight	12:34 on 29 March, 15:07 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 5 rainy days

The same dates in Florence hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Eggplant in Florence: care after planting

Planted on 28 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

28 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
25 June — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of eggplant to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Florence during the eggplant season

Days average above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C in July (31.4 °C) and August (31.5 °C). Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (20.8 °C) and November (14.7 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 6.2 °C to 18.3 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.9	10.8	105	14	14:43
June	28.2	15.6	54	8	15:26
July	31.4	18	31	5	15:09
August	31.5	18.3	50	6	14:02
September	25.8	14.4	114	10	12:33
October	20.8	10.6	107	11	11:04
November	14.7	6.2	140	13	9:41

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

Around Florence, Livorno is 12 days earlier and Pisa 19 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Siena	50 km	26 May – 7 August	2 days earlier
Arezzo	61 km	9 June – 1 August	12 days later
Pisa	69 km	16 June – 29 July	19 days later
Livorno	79 km	from 16 May	12 days earlier
Bologna	80 km	16 May – 9 August	12 days earlier
San Marino	97 km	16 May – 22 August	12 days earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Florence

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 7 August (from 7 May to 7 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 8 March to 8 June. Within 15 km of Florence OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 13 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Vivaio di Gamberaia — garden centre
12 km
Vivaio Il Giardiniere — garden centre
2 km
Arteverde Garden — garden centre
7 km
Mercato delle Pulci — market
1 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions