When to plant eggplants in Grand Rapids: 28 May – 14 July

In Grand Rapids, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 8 March to 15 May; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 14 July; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 14 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Wells Orchard (farm shop, 10 km) and Momma D's Kitchen (farm shop, 10 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Eggplant in Grand Rapids: soil, season and weather

In Grand Rapids the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 28 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 28 May, 30 days later.

Last spring frost	28 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	28 May, 30 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 May – 14 July; May outside: 9.4 °C at night, 20.8 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	3 November, 159 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	6 August – 22 September
Days left for picking	89
Daylight	12:34 on 29 March, 15:02 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 10 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Grand Rapids: 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 Grand Rapids during the eggplant season

No month of the season averages above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 28.2 °C. Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: May (20.8 °C), October (16.3 °C) and November (8.2 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 1.3 °C to 17.9 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	20.8	9.4	100	12	14:38
June	26.5	15.4	104	11	15:20
July	28.2	17.9	81	11	15:04
August	27.3	17.1	98	10	13:58
September	23.9	14.2	69	9	12:33
October	16.3	8	109	13	11:06
November	8.2	1.3	64	10	9:45

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

Around Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne is 7 days earlier and Traverse City 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Lansing	95 km	28 May – 13 July	same day
Ann Arbor	174 km	29 May – 16 July	1 day later
Milwaukee	182 km	28 May – 12 July	same day
Chicago	201 km	28 May – 17 July	same day
Traverse City	201 km	5 June – 20 July	8 days later
Fort Wayne	214 km	21 May – 13 July	7 days earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Grand Rapids

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 14 July (from 7 May to 14 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 8 March to 15 May. Within 15 km of Grand Rapids OpenStreetMap lists 7 garden centres, 2 plant nurseries, 7 markets and 9 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Wells Orchard — farm shop
Kenowa Avenue Southwest 8993, 49534 · Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00; Sat 09:00–17:00 · 10 km · wellsorchards.com
Momma D's Kitchen — farm shop
Breton Avenue Southeast 4455, 49508 Grand Rapids · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00; Sat 10:00–15:00 · 10 km · mommadskitchenllc.com
Ed Dunneback & Girls Farm — farm shop
6 Mile Road Northwest 3025, 49544 · Tue 09:00–20:00; Wed 09:00–21:00; Thu 09:00–20:00; Fri 09:00–21:00; Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 11:00–17:00 · 13 km · dunnebackgirls.com
Blok Orchard — farm shop
4 Mile Road Northeast 6365, 49301 Ada · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:30; Sat 09:00–17:00 · 15 km · blokorchard.com

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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