When to plant eggplants in Rochester: 2 June – 23 July

In Rochester, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 13 March to 24 May; plant into a greenhouse from 12 May to 23 July; plant out into open ground from 2 June to 23 July.

Eggplant in Rochester: soil, season and weather

In Rochester the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 20 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 2 June, 43 days later.

Last spring frost	20 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	2 June, 43 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	12 May – 23 July; May outside: 9.8 °C at night, 18.3 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	12 November, 163 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	11 August – 1 October
Days left for picking	93
Daylight	12:48 on 3 April, 15:10 on 2 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 10 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Rochester: care after planting

Planted on 2 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

2 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
30 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 Rochester during the eggplant season

No month of the season averages above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 27.2 °C. Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (16.9 °C) and November (9.4 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 2.9 °C to 19.2 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	24	15.6	79	11	15:22
July	27.2	19.2	98	12	15:05
August	26.2	18.6	92	13	13:59
September	23.2	15.3	76	10	12:33
October	16.9	9.8	123	14	11:06
November	9.4	2.9	90	14	9:44

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant eggplant earlier than Rochester; the closest date is in Hamilton, 1 day earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Buffalo	106 km	29 May – 21 July	4 days earlier
Syracuse (United States)	121 km	31 May – 17 July	2 days earlier
Ithaca	121 km	31 May – 19 July	2 days earlier
Toronto	153 km	29 May – 10 July	4 days earlier
Hamilton	181 km	1 June – 18 July	1 day earlier
Erie	231 km	30 May – 30 July	3 days earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Rochester

Buy plants ready to set out from 2 June to 23 July (from 12 May to 23 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 13 March to 24 May. Within 15 km of Rochester OpenStreetMap lists 8 garden centres, 7 markets and 2 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Rochester Public Market Shed B — market
3 km
Market Office — market
3 km
Rochester Public Market Shed D — market
3 km
Rochester Public Market Shed C — market
3 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