How to Prune Eggplants PROPERLY | Tips for Growing Eggplant

If you're looking to get more fruit from your eggplant plants, then you need to learn how to prune them properly. In this video, we'll show you exactly how to prune eggplants for bigger, tastier harvests.
In this step-by-step guide, you'll learn how proper pruning results in not just more eggplants but better fruit too! Prune your eggplants the right way and you'll be able to get the most from them.
Here's what we'll cover:
Chapters:
00:00 Eggplant Pruning Intro
00:44 Pruning eggplant leaders for maximum yield
08:58 When to prune early eggplant flowers
10:43 Pruning eggplant leaves (and why)
13:49 Optional advanced eggplant pruning technique
Written article version of this video if you'd rather read than watch: nextdoorhomestead.com/blog/ho...
Resources
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Research Report: High Tunnel Eggplant Varieties, Pruning & Postharvest Storage - extension.unh.edu/sites/defau...
THE EFFECT OF PLANT PRUNING ON THE LIGHT CONDITIONS AND VEGETATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF EGGPLANT (SOLANUM MELONGENA L.) IN GREENHOUSE CULTIVATION - sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/v1003...
EFFECT OF PRUNING TECHNIQUE ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF BRINJAL - deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery...
Effect of plant pruning and topping on yielding of eggplant in unheated foil tunnel - www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Gear Used in this Video
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Pruners: www.amazon.com/gonicc-Profess...
Twine: www.amazon.com/KINGLAKE-Natur...
Bamboo Stakes: www.amazon.com/Natural-Bamboo...
Eggplant Seeds: www.amazon.com/Davids-Garden-...
Follow Us
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On Instagram: / nextdoorhomestead
On the Web: nextdoorhomestead.com/
#eggplants #gardening #homesteading

[@Estella0707]

Oh yes, a garden tour video would be so fun to watch. 🤓

[@vimondireksri8820]

I'm an ex non-pruner. Haha. I did but only lightly. Mostly because I always found things more "important" to do. Perfect timing for this video. I've got 30 eggplants going on in the garden now. I pruned all the lower plants for airflow and not make it for ants to carry those nasty little sap suckers. , :) Love your super informative videos.

[@laurenantonia1]

So glad I found your channel. I’m going to prune my eggplant this year. I am in the south and my eggplants get enormous and unmanageable in our long growing season. Would you consider doing a garden tour video? I’m curious about your grow bag setup and space in general. Keep up the good work, I love the in depth knowledge you share.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I love this comment! Thanks for chiming in - enormous and unmanageable sounds about right =) Yeah, I think I'll do a harvest / garden tour type video some time this year. We planted a lot of perennials this year and it would be fun to talk about the different sections in our little suburban homestead^^ Cheers!

[@MissTarryn]

@@NextdoorHomestead Looking forward to a video about your setup as well! Great work, your videos are very informative! Subscribed :)

[@alligator_pie]

Thank you! I had read not to prune eggplants because the foliage protects the fruit from sun. But your pruning technique achieves this .

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem - I hope it proves helpful this year! What variety are you growing?!

[@alligator_pie]

@@NextdoorHomestead I’m growing my fave, the Ping Tung long eggplant, I think you like this one too. I appreciated your recommendation on another video you did for the “millionaire” variety, as I’m in Zone 3 🇨🇦 , so the faster the better!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@alligator_pie What a great choice =) In addition to those two we're growing Nigral and Turkish Delight this year. I hope to make a video on if they make the cut ;)

[@jennsurbanhomestead6098]

This is such great information. I had no idea. I'm pruning mine tomorrow!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'm so glad it was helpful! Best of luck with your eggplants =)

[@algorythemQ]

Thanks! I wish I knew this two months ago. Good advice...

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Thank you for watching and I'm glad it was helpful! =)

[@vimondireksri8820]

Commenting just for the algorithm and I want maximum yield.

[@hollywong8197]

Very good advice, thank you.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Thanks for that Holly! Appreciate it 😁

[@Estella0707]

Wow 🤩 really cool. Was wondering about this today. Very informative video. Thank you!! 🎉

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem - I hope it helps!

[@tanyatango4197]

I find a lot of videos on early pruning of eggplants but nothing about how to care for a fully grown plant contuing over to second year. This spring/summer I grew (almost accidentally) 4 eggplant plants that grew massively due to us being away for significant part of their growth period. They are producing abundantly now here in NorCal. I am unsure how to care for it now onwards 'coz clearly they will continue over to next season. Do I cut them back? If so how and how much and when? Would really appreciate some information about the care of these veggie plants that can be perennials during winter seasons and beyond.

[@odimarbatista3976]

Thank you for the well researched content! Can’t wait to try it as my plants were just transplanted yesterday, day before father’s day, as we just started having nights above 50° here in zone 6a (Massachusetts).

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're so welcome - I'm very glad it was informational =) What variety are you growing? That's got to be tough having to wait so long!

[@odimarbatista3976]

@@NextdoorHomestead it’s definitely a challenge having to bring them into the house evfI’m growing Nadia, and Dancer which I sourced from a local farm, Stearns farm, and Giló which comes from a line that my Grandmother used to grow in her garden over 60 yrs. ago. I have 4 of each variety.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@odimarbatista3976 Very cool! Nadia was on my list this year actually. We ended up going with Nigral, so I'm curious how it does for you!

[@garyc.1129]

Great article exactly what I needed to know first time growing eggplant. I eggplant parmesan is my favorite Italian Dish and I think I make it pretty dang good. On another note, I do not know much about cherry trees & I purchased one that's in graph with two other types of cherries. Do you know anything about cherry trees I have a few things going on with them. Already spent a few hours trying to find info on it no luck

[@JennySimon206]

Gotta be a balance between the size of the root ball, how much vegetation it can support and the balance of how much fruit and the quality of the fruit that the plant can support.

[@carllopresti697]

If i could sub you twice and bring your count up,I would! Awesome research, great video techniques with close ups.Thank you. Zone 5 Blk Beauty

[@NextdoorHomestead]

This is just such an awesome comment Carl - I love that you enjoyed this video. Pruning and Eggplants are two of my favorite topics in gardening =) =)

[@cathycathywild5145]

bonjour savez vous si on peut bouturer les drageons d aubergines et comment ?j aimerai d autres plant d aubergine

[@elisabetk2595]

Every year I regret not pruning my eggplants earlier - here in Texas we have a LONG season and the branches start getting heavy and hard to control, and getting into that thicket to harvest gets to be real chore with some varieties. It hard to lop off a branch that is growing fruit already.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Don't I know it. I'll tell you what, it kills me to prune anything that *might* fruit.

[@midsouthhomestead7527]

Thanks 💚👩‍🌾💚

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're most welcome! Thanks for watching =)

[@exoticflavorsBulls]

Help my black beauty eggplant looks kind leggy. Not bushes. Gigantic leaves but very spaced apart each Leaf is about 6or7 inches it about 2-1/4

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Black beauty tends to be trickier to grow in my opinion! First things to check: is it getting enough nutrients? Too much water? Not enough sun? Those could cause the issues your describing. Cheers!

[@marneeklein2463]

OK so hydroponic fairytale eggplant is AWESOME!! But I couldn't figure out how to prune it still because it looks so compact and different from yours - I have basic rookie questions like what counts as a leader? How do I count the leaders? How early do I prune in its lifecycle? (My most recent seedling is just over a month old but already so big! Hydroponics grows so fast)

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Leaders are the individual growing stems that's result from either a sucker or another leader splitting. I'd LOVE to help with your other question but I'm not a hydroponic grower and don't want to mislead you!

[@user-xn8rv6lb5n]

Maybe I missed this in your video, but I was late to pruning my eggplant this year and I've noticed the "suckers" developing flowers. Will these flowers turn into anything or are they just duds that should still be snipped?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Sorry for the delayed response Briana! Your comment was flagged as Spam for some reason =( They will definitely still flower and fruit! No worries on that front. You'll just end up with fewer overall good fruits at the end of teh season if you let them sucker uncontrolled.

[@marneeklein2463]

Would it make sense to also prune Fairytale eggplant in a hydroponic system to 4 leaders as well?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'm afraid I don't have enough experience or education on hydroponics to say. Most of the real research on these topics is done with more traditional field trials so it can be hard to generalize to alternative growing mediums. Sorry for the non-answer =(

[@marneeklein2463]

Makes sense, thanks so much for the reply and the wonderful video! I really appreciate your looking into the research and the references and you making the material accessible for a newbie like me!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@marneeklein2463 No problem at all! I'd love to hear how the hydroponic eggplants go!

[@carllopresti697]

I have egg plants growing in 5 gal grow bags. Is your bag 10 gal in this video? Should i reduce to 2 main stems for a 5 gal bag?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

These are ten gallon bags, yeah. I wouldn't go below three leaders, just keep the plant well fed. A 5 gallon bag can support an eggplant for sure =) What variety are you growing?

[@carllopresti697]

@@NextdoorHomestead hi Parthenocarpic Sure Thing by Burpee

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@carllopresti697 Apologies, is that a squash or eggplant variety?

[@carllopresti697]

@NextdoorHomestead oh shoot! My error is that my egg plants are Black Beauty. I'm really sorry about that but I got to hand it to you, you picked it up. I picked up the wrong seed pack. I apologize.

[@debschannel6838]

I wonder if I can still prune a plant that is about 2.5 feet tall or it if will shock it. I had no idea how to care for eggplants. I have a few eggplants growing on it without any pruning but I wanted maximum yield. I am a first timer.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yep, shouldn't be a problem! It's always possible to shock a plant with a lot of pruning but you can do a bit at a time or just start removing new suckers rather than taking off large existing leaders.

[@debschannel6838]

Very nice. Thank you.

[@mfmr200]

my eggplant plant have woody stem 🤔

[@lifestapestry2968]

First time growing them and did nothing with mine and they have hundreds of eggplants on them. All I did was put them in a large plastic pot, no supports, just decent compost....

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Wow that's super impressive! You're doing something really right over there!

[@lifestapestry2968]

@@NextdoorHomestead think they are a different variety to the ones you show. These are the white eggplant variety so looking at them they are smaller but grow in clumps

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@lifestapestry2968 Oh nice! There are some cool little white ones out there. I've eaten the Japanese white egg variety before and loved it.

[@FatgirlMickey]

Ty for the information it is so very nice that u share the information u have gathered from reputable sources because some people on utube just straight up lie to u and I think it is to get more clicks on their videos and u don't find out they have lied to u until u have done what they suggested which ends up costing time and money in wasted plants and seeds not germinating. I love your video.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I really try! I'm not close to perfect and make mistakes (and learn new things) but I really do try to keep in mind the exact things you mentioned. Anyhow, thank you so much for the kind words!