When to plant eggplants in Traverse City: 5 June – 20 July

In Traverse City, eggplant: sow for seedlings from 16 March to 21 May; plant into a greenhouse from 15 May to 20 July; plant out into open ground from 5 June to 20 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Cherry U-Pick at Third Coast Fruit Co. (farm shop, 7 km) and Gallagher's Farm Market and Bakery (farm shop, 7 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Eggplant in Traverse City: soil, season and weather

In Traverse City the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 2 May, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the eggplant card — only around 5 June, 34 days later.

Last spring frost	2 May
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	5 June, 34 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	15 May – 20 July; May outside: 7.4 °C at night, 18 °C by day; card 21–29 °C
First autumn frost	9 November, 157 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	14 August – 28 September
Days left for picking	87
Daylight	13:00 on 6 April, 15:26 on 5 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 15 rainy days

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

Eggplant in Traverse City: care after planting

Planted on 5 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

5 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
3 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 Traverse City during the eggplant season

No month of the season averages above the eggplant card's 21–29 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 25.9 °C. Months that stay below 21 °C even by day on average: October (14.7 °C) and November (7 °C). Nights average below 21 °C in every month of the season, from 1.5 °C to 17.2 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	23.7	13.7	88	10	15:34
July	25.9	17.2	72	10	15:16
August	25.1	16.9	75	10	14:06
September	22	14	78	10	12:34
October	14.7	8.2	115	15	11:02
November	7	1.5	70	15	9:36

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Eggplant in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant eggplant earlier than Traverse City; the closest date is in Ann Arbor, 7 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Green Bay	192 km	27 May – 10 July	9 days earlier
Grand Rapids	201 km	28 May – 14 July	8 days earlier
Lansing	244 km	28 May – 13 July	8 days earlier
Milwaukee	266 km	28 May – 12 July	8 days earlier
Ann Arbor	315 km	29 May – 16 July	7 days earlier
Detroit	341 km	27 May – 18 July	9 days earlier

Where to buy eggplant plants and seeds near Traverse City

Buy plants ready to set out from 5 June to 20 July (from 15 May to 20 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 16 March to 21 May. Within 15 km of Traverse City OpenStreetMap lists 13 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 market and 6 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

Cherry U-Pick at Third Coast Fruit Co. — farm shop · sells: cherry, flowers
Wilson Road 555, 49686 Traverse City · Jun 21–Aug 12: 09:00–18:30 · 7 km · cherryupick.com
Lightwell Lavender Farm — farm shop
Carroll Road 2150, 49686 Traverse City · Jul–Aug: 10:00–15:00 · 12 km
Buchan's Blueberry Hill — farm shop
Nelson Road 1472, 49686 Traverse City · 12 km
Gallagher's Farm Market and Bakery — farm shop
East Traverse Highway 7237, 49684 Traverse City · 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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