When to plant eggplants in Rockford: 28 May – 8 July

In Rockford, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 8 March to 9 May; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 8 July; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 8 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Walmart Garden Center (garden centre, 7 km) and Rockvalley Garden Center (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Eggplant in Rockford: soil, season and weather

In Rockford the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 26 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 28 May, 32 days later.

Last spring frost	26 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	28 May, 32 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 May – 8 July; May outside: 10.2 °C at night, 21.3 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	28 October, 153 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	6 August – 16 September
Days left for picking	83
Daylight	12:33 on 29 March, 14:57 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, August, has 11 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Rockford: 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 Rockford during the eggplant season

No month of the season averages above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 28.4 °C. Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (17.1 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 7.9 °C to 18.5 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.3	10.2	109	14	14:34
June	27.3	16.4	100	12	15:15
July	28.4	18.5	105	12	14:59
August	27.5	17.5	82	11	13:55
September	24.7	14.7	83	9	12:32
October	17.1	7.9	93	10	11:07

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

3 of the nearest cities share Rockford's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Madison	94 km	28 May – 7 July	same day
Chicago	125 km	28 May – 17 July	same day
Milwaukee	128 km	28 May – 12 July	same day
Davenport	149 km	17 May – 10 July	11 days earlier
Peoria	180 km	18 May – 11 July	10 days earlier
Cedar Rapids	219 km	20 May – 5 July	8 days earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Rockford

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 8 July (from 7 May to 8 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 8 March to 9 May. Within 15 km of Rockford OpenStreetMap lists 10 garden centres (collected 28 October 2026).

Rockvalley Garden Center — garden centre
North Bell School Road, 61107 Rockford · 8 km
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
Mon–Sun 06:00–23:00 · 7 km
Home Depot Garden Center — garden centre
7 km
Pepper Creek — garden centre
7 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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