When to plant eggplants in Lille: 11 June – 1 August

In Lille, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 22 March to 2 June; plant into a greenhouse from 21 May to 1 August; plant out into open ground from 11 June to 1 August.

Eggplant in Lille: soil, season and weather

In Lille the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 8 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 11 June, 64 days later.

Last spring frost	8 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	11 June, 64 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	21 May – 1 August; May outside: 8.6 °C at night, 18.4 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	21 November, 163 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 August – 10 October
Days left for picking	93
Daylight	13:36 on 12 April, 16:24 on 11 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 10 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Lille: care after planting

Planted on 11 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

11 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
9 July — 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 Lille during the eggplant season

No month of the season averages above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 23.3 °C. Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: September (20.5 °C), October (16 °C) and November (10.5 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 5 °C to 14.3 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	22.1	12.5	64	11	16:27
July	23.1	13.8	54	10	16:04
August	23.3	14.3	61	11	14:35
September	20.5	11.9	60	10	12:41
October	16	9.2	80	12	10:48
November	10.5	5	74	12	9:00

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

Around Lille, Ghent is 11 days earlier and Bruges 4 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bruges	65 km	15 June – 10 August	4 days later
Ghent	66 km	31 May – 4 August	11 days earlier
Mons	66 km	10 June – 30 July	1 day earlier
Brussels	94 km	8 June – 2 August	3 days earlier
Amiens	98 km	12 June – 1 August	1 day later
Charleroi	101 km	10 June – 26 July	1 day earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Lille

Buy plants ready to set out from 11 June to 1 August (from 21 May to 1 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 22 March to 2 June. Within 15 km of Lille OpenStreetMap lists 14 garden centres, 3 farm-supply shops, 4 plant nurseries, 20 markets and 33 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Marché de Santes — market
Avenue Albert Bernard 8, 59211 Santes · Wed 15:00–19:00 · 8 km
Les Halles — market
Tue–Sat 08:00–20:00; Sun 08:00–15:00 · 1 km · halles-wazemmes.com
Marché de Sainte-Marguerite — market
Rue Édouard Vaillant, 59155 Faches-Thumesnil · Wed 09:00–13:00 · 5 km
Marchés municipaux — market
Place de la République, 59139 Wattignies · Thu 09:00–12:00, Fri 09:00–12:00 · 6 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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