Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Brussels Sprouts
Either you love Brussels sprouts or you despise them; there seems to be no in between. If you like them, then they are an intriguing addition to a cool-season garden, with their 2- to 3-foot-long stalks covered with miniature cabbage-like heads. Brussels cabbage is another name for these plants.
They are among the cool-season crops that taste best after a little frost and don’t handle warm summers. They appear to like extremes, doing well below a cover of snow or in mild-winter areas. Brussels sprouts are members of the cabbage family and subject to a number of the issues and prerequisites.
More: The way to grow cool-season veggies
When to plant: Late summer and autumn (for mild-winter ponds); midsummer in very cold winter climates; spring where summers are very cool
Days to maturity: 80 to 100 or longer
moderate requirement: Full sun
Water necessity: Frequent
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Planting and care: Either sow seeds or set out plants in fertile soil that drains well. Do not plant in which you’ve planted cabbage crops in the previous couple of years.
Sow seeds 1/4 into 1/2 inch deep and an inch apart about 90 to 100 days before the first frost. Thin to 1 1/2 to 2 feet apart. Set 1 1/2 to 2 feet apart. Provide steady water but don’t let them stand in water. Maintain the place weeded, taking care not to damage shallow roots. Impact when the plants reach about 12 inches high; you might find another harvest.
Like other cabbage crops, Brussels sprouts are vulnerable to problems, including aphids, cabage loopers, cabbage root maggots, cabbage worms, flea beetles, harlequin bugs, black rot, clubroot, damping off, downy mildew and fusarium wilt. You probably won’t receive every one of these, but keep a look out for problems as the plants grow. Crop rotation and a soil pH of 6.5 or above will help prevent diseases.
Harvest: Harvest after the large leaves begin to turn yellow and until the heads open. Start from the base of the stem and snap off sprouts that are firm and almost the size of a golf ball. Remove below where you’ve harvested.