The first year I planted eggplant I got one eggplant off the plant. This year I'm wondering if I plant them too early in spring. I've already got them started outside in the garden and I have another 6 spare plants in a cold frame. The temps still get down into the 40's at night. Is this too early? Thanks!

start them 6 weeks before expected last frost. Set them out 2 weeks after expected last frost. They are slow to sprout, and slow to grow. Just take good care of them while indoors, give them LOTS of light during the day, but the need darkness to grow. They are a species of nightshade. Thus the 5 pointed bloom spikes on the fruit. The pentagram. I think maturity date is around 85 days. There may be some early varities.
I dont plant the black beauty types, I plant the long purple, oriental types. They are sweeter and dont get bitter like the black beauty.

I start eggplant about 6 weeks before putting out, but I put them out about a week after tomatoes (last frost date), and a week before peppers. They are more sensitive to cool air AND soil than tomatoes, and I have found that planting them under cover brings me no earlier fruits, probably due to the soil temp. For me, tomatoes (when started 3 weeks earlier and put out under cover) will produce earlier, EP does no better or worse, and peppers will actually produce worse than plants started and put out at the normal time, so I think it has to be the soil temp. with these two. This year I had to wait until 5-24/25 to transplant peppers and EP, since it was getting below 50º here really late into May, but this is unusual. Where you are, this would probably be very early any year to put them out, but I'm just guessing.

Dave