Garden Vegetable - Brussels Sprouts

Botanical Information

Starting

Notes:

Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained, fertile, medium to heavy calcareous, preferably alkaline, soil. Also succeeds in any reasonable soil and in maritime gardens. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 7.8, though it prefers a pH of 6.5 or higher. Plants, especially the late harvesting cultivars, are hardy to about -14°F. Brussels sprouts are widely grown in temperate zones for their edible axillary buds which look like miniature cabbages. They are available from late autumn to late winter and there are many named varieties. It is possible to bring the harvest period forward and produce more evenly spaced sprouts by removing the plants main growing point. Called 'stopping', it should be carried out when the lower sprouts reach a diameter of about 3/8in. Late cultivars are unsuitable for this treatment.
Grows poorly with strawberries, each plant serving to retard the growth of the other. Grows well with many aromatic herbs as these herbs help to repel insect pests. Some other plants that grow well with Brussels sprouts include potatoes and celery.

Propagation: Seed - sow in a seedbed outdoors in early spring. Plant out in early summer. In order to produce a larger or earlier crop, the seed can also be sown under glass in February and planted out in May. Do not let the seedlings get overcrowded or they will soon become leggy. If your seedlings do get leggy, it is possible to plant them deeper into the soil - the buried stems will soon form roots and the plant will be better supported.