When to plant eggplants in Fort Wayne: 21 May – 13 July

In Fort Wayne, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 1 March to 14 May; plant into a greenhouse from 30 April to 13 July; plant out into open ground from 21 May to 13 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Stuckey's Greenhouses INC. (garden centre, 3 km) and More Farm Store (farm supply, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Eggplant in Fort Wayne: soil, season and weather

In Fort Wayne the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 24 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 21 May, 27 days later.

Last spring frost	24 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	21 May, 27 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	30 April – 13 July; April outside: 4.5 °C at night, 15.7 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	2 November, 165 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	30 July – 21 September
Days left for picking	95
Daylight	12:13 on 22 March, 14:39 on 21 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 9 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Fort Wayne: care after planting

Planted on 21 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

21 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
18 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 Fort Wayne during the eggplant season

No month of the season averages above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 28.6 °C. Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (18.2 °C) and November (10.1 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 1.8 °C to 18.9 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.7	11.1	108	13	14:28
June	27.2	16.9	95	12	15:07
July	28.6	18.9	97	13	14:52
August	27.6	17.8	75	11	13:51
September	25.1	15	64	8	12:31
October	18.2	8.9	80	11	11:10
November	10.1	1.8	62	9	9:55

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

Around Fort Wayne, Dayton is 5 days earlier and Ann Arbor 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Toledo (United States)	148 km	24 May – 18 July	3 days later
Dayton	167 km	16 May – 20 July	5 days earlier
Indianapolis	169 km	16 May – 17 July	5 days earlier
Ann Arbor	176 km	29 May – 16 July	8 days later
Lansing	187 km	28 May – 13 July	7 days later
Grand Rapids	214 km	28 May – 14 July	7 days later

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Fort Wayne

Buy plants ready to set out from 21 May to 13 July (from 30 April to 13 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 1 March to 14 May. Within 15 km of Fort Wayne OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 2 markets and 2 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

Cook's Orchard Store — farm shop
10 km
Schmucker's Produce And Greenhouse — farm shop
15 km
Stuckey's Greenhouses INC. — garden centre
Tyler Avenue 1919, 46808 Fort Wayne · 3 km
More Farm Store — farm supply
North Clinton Street 8029 · 9 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.

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