• Eggplants come in globe or oblong varieties.Blue Jean Images/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  Like tomatoes and peppers, eggplants belong to the nightshade family. This group of annual vegetables produces seed-filled fruits during the warm season. Eggplants must be replanted each year, as they do not survive the winter months. While nursery seedlings are often available, propagating your own eggplants from seed is both inexpensive and gives you the option of growing varieties that aren't commonly available from nurseries. Begin the seeds in late winter or early spring so the young eggplants are strong when you set them out in the garden in early summer.
  
  

Acquiring Seeds

• Eggplant seeds are readily available from nurseries and seed suppliers, but you can also collect and save seeds from your own garden plants. Leave two or more eggplants on the plant at the end of the season to overripen. Take seeds from more than one plant to help ensure genetic diversity and viability. Once the eggplants lose their sheen and become soft, cut them open and mash the vegetable with a potato masher. The seeds stick to the pulp and must be separated and rinsed in a mesh sieve to remove as much pulp as possible. Once cleaned, allow them to dry for one week, then store them in a dark, cool area until you are ready to plant.
  
  

Propagation Equipment

• As warm-weather vegetables, eggplants do best when started indoors. The primary equipment needed is small pots and soil. Most commercial potting soils work well for starting seeds. Use purchased seed pots or recycle egg cartons, yogurt containers or small paper cups as seedling pots. Poke one or two holes in the bottom of recycled pots to provide drainage. Eggplants require temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees F to germinate, so you may need a seed propagation heat mat to provide this temperature indoors. The mats are readily available at garden centers and from seed suppliers.
  
  

Planting Method

• Start eggplant seeds eight weeks before the last expected spring frost so they have time to grow strong and healthy before transplanting. Sow seeds 1/4-inch deep in moistened potting soil. Covering the pot with plastic helps retain moisture in the soil, as eggplants won't germinate in dry conditions. The seeds usually take between one and two weeks to germinate. Once they sprout, remove the plastic and provide the young plants with eight hours of daily sunlight.