Little Finger Eggplant (Solanum melongena) Seeds – Open-Pollinated Japanese-Style Mini Eggplant, Sweet Mild Tender Flesh, Great for Containers

Minimum: 30+ Seeds

Japanese-Style Mini Fruit, Made for Pots

Full-size eggplants take up room, take their time, and ask a lot of the cook. Little Finger Eggplant skips all of that. It's an open-pollinated Japanese-style variety that sets slender, glossy purple-black fruit in clusters, picked at just a few inches long while the flesh is sweet, mild, and tender. The plants stay compact enough for a big pot on the patio, and they start producing earlier than many eggplants, making this one of the most forgiving ways to grow eggplant at home.

Who Grows Little Finger Eggplant?
The container gardener wanting a compact eggplant that thrives in a pot.
The home cook wanting small, tender fruit that cooks quickly without peeling.
The short-season gardener wanting an early, productive eggplant.
The seed saver wanting an open-pollinated variety that breeds true.

What This Japanese-Style Mini Eggplant Actually Is
Solanum melongena 'Little Finger' is an open-pollinated, Japanese-style eggplant that produces slender, finger-shaped fruit, typically 3 to 5 inches long, with glossy, deep purple-black skin. Fruit grows in clusters of several at a time, and the flesh is sweet, mild, and tender, with a thin skin and few seeds, so no peeling or salting is needed. Plants stay compact and bushy, usually 2 to 3 feet tall, and bear heavily over a long season when picked often. Its quick maturity and small size make it well suited to containers and short-season gardens. As an open-pollinated variety, it breeds true from saved seed. Grown as a warm-season annual, tender perennial in the warmest climates.

In the Garden & Kitchen

• Grilling: Halve lengthwise and grill for a quick, smoky side dish.
• Stir-fries: Slice and stir-fry in minutes without peeling or salting.
• Roasting: Roast whole or halved with olive oil and garlic.
• Container growing: Grow in a large pot on a patio, balcony, or deck.
• Small-space gardening: Fit a productive plant into a compact bed or raised bed.
• Seed saving: Save seed from open-pollinated fruit to grow the same variety year after year.

Growing Little Finger Eggplant Seeds

• Start method: Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost; eggplant needs a long, warm season.
• Germination: Sprouts in 7 to 14 days with steady warmth.
• Soil temperature: Germinates best between 80 and 90°F.
• Transplanting: Move outdoors after frost danger has passed and nights stay above 55°F.
• Spacing: Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart; use a 5-gallon or larger container.
• Sunlight: Full sun; eggplant thrives in heat.
• Soil: Rich, well-drained soil with good fertility supports the heaviest fruit set.
• Watering: Consistent, even moisture; avoid letting plants dry out during fruiting.
• Support: Stake or cage plants heavy with fruit clusters.
• Days to maturity: Typically ready for harvest in roughly 60 to 70 days from transplant.
• Harvest: Pick fruit at 3 to 4 inches while the skin is glossy and the flesh tender.
• Pests: Use row cover early in the season to protect seedlings from flea beetles.

Before You Close This Page
This is the eggplant for gardeners and cooks who want the flavor without the fuss, slender purple-black fingers in clusters on a compact plant that thrives in a pot. Little Finger Eggplant is open-pollinated, early, and productive, with tender, mild flesh that cooks in minutes and never needs peeling. Start it warm, give it sun, and pick the fruit young and often. Grow the eggplant that proves small can be plenty.