We had a lovely aubergine plant. It produced two fruits, which coloured into nice dark purple (except for right at the top). As they were quite hard (absolutely no give when squeezed) we left them to ripe a bit before picking. They both started rotting.
Should we have picked them while they were still very hard? Or is it something else we did wrong?
Knowing when to pick them is a bit of an art - they should be harvested when the skin has turned dark purple, the fruit is glossy, but still firm. If you wait for them to soften, they may rot, which seems to be what happened to yours. More guidance on harvesting aubergine here https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/eggplant/how-to-harvest-eggplants.htm
