When to plant eggplants in Peoria: 18 May – 11 July

In Peoria, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 26 February to 12 May; plant into a greenhouse from 27 April to 11 July; plant out into open ground from 18 May to 11 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Bottom Line Solutions (garden centre, 12 km) and Ron's Produce (farm shop, 15 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Eggplant in Peoria: soil, season and weather

In Peoria the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 19 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 18 May, 29 days later.

Last spring frost	19 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	18 May, 29 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	27 April – 11 July; April outside: 5.9 °C at night, 16.7 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	31 October, 166 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	27 July – 19 September
Days left for picking	96
Daylight	12:04 on 19 March, 14:32 on 18 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 7 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Peoria: care after planting

Planted on 18 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

18 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
15 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 Peoria during the eggplant season

Days average above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C in July (29.3 °C). Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (18.6 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 9.6 °C to 20.1 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	23	12.5	123	12	14:26
June	28.5	18.3	90	11	15:04
July	29.3	20.1	94	12	14:49
August	28.3	19.1	82	10	13:49
September	25.9	16.4	57	7	12:31
October	18.6	9.6	97	10	11:11

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

Around Peoria, St. Louis is 10 days earlier and Rockford 10 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Springfield	99 km	15 May – 12 July	3 days earlier
Davenport	129 km	17 May – 10 July	1 day earlier
Rockford	180 km	28 May – 8 July	10 days later
Chicago	211 km	28 May – 17 July	10 days later
Cedar Rapids	224 km	20 May – 5 July	2 days later
St. Louis	235 km	8 May – 15 July	10 days earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Peoria

Buy plants ready to set out from 18 May to 11 July (from 27 April to 11 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 26 February to 12 May. Within 15 km of Peoria OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Ron's Produce — farm shop
North Radnor Road 10213, Peoria · 15 km
Level Up Seed and Garden Supply — garden centre
1 km
GroUp Gardening — garden centre
14 km
Bottom Line Solutions — garden centre
Cooper Road 25356, 61550 Morton · 12 km · enduraplas.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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