When to plant eggplants in Lincoln: 11 May – 8 July

In Lincoln, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 19 February to 9 May; plant into a greenhouse from 20 April to 8 July; plant out into open ground from 11 May to 8 July.

Eggplant in Lincoln: soil, season and weather

In Lincoln the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 16 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 11 May, 25 days later.

Last spring frost	16 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	11 May, 25 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	20 April – 8 July; April outside: 5.8 °C at night, 18.3 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	28 October, 170 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 July – 16 September
Days left for picking	100
Daylight	11:45 on 12 March, 14:18 on 11 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 7 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Lincoln: care after planting

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

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

11 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
8 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 Lincoln during the eggplant season

Days average above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C in June (30.6 °C), July (31.2 °C) and August (29.9 °C). Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (19.3 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 8.5 °C to 20.8 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	23.5	12.2	128	13	14:26
June	30.6	19	101	10	15:05
July	31.2	20.8	76	8	14:50
August	29.9	19.5	74	9	13:50
September	27.3	16.6	59	7	12:31
October	19.3	8.5	67	7	11:10

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

Around Lincoln, Topeka is 5 days earlier and Sioux Falls 13 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Omaha	79 km	17 May – 6 July	6 days later
Grand Island	143 km	18 May – 7 July	7 days later
Topeka	215 km	6 May – 9 July	5 days earlier
Kansas City	261 km	7 May – 12 July	4 days earlier
Des Moines	271 km	17 May – 7 July	6 days later
Sioux Falls	304 km	24 May – 1 July	13 days later

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Lincoln

Buy plants ready to set out from 11 May to 8 July (from 20 April to 8 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 19 February to 9 May. Within 15 km of Lincoln OpenStreetMap lists 7 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 7 plant nurseries and 1 market (collected 28 October 2026).

Spilker's Pineridge Tree Farm — plant nursery
7 km
Prior Pine — plant nursery
7 km
Anderson's Tree Farms — plant nursery
8 km
Pioneer Gardens and Nursery — plant nursery
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.

Questions