Brussels sprouts sown in spring are ready for Christmas

Sow Brussels sprouts in spring, from late March to early May, and they’ll be ready for Christmas. Early varieties can be started indoors from February for picking in September, and late ones stand in the garden until February.

They’re a long crop, four to six months from sowing to picking, so they need a spot in the garden they can hold all through summer and winter.

When to sow

Sowing	Method	Picking
February to March	Indoors or under cover, early varieties	September to October
Late March to early May	Seedbed or modules outdoors	November to January
Up to mid-May	Modules, late varieties	December to February

These dates are for a typical lowland garden in England or Wales. In Scotland and the north, start a couple of weeks later outdoors, or sow under cover.

Sowing

Sow 1.5 cm deep, either thinly in a seedbed outside or two seeds to a module, thinning to the stronger one. Seedlings come up in a week or two.

Module-grown plants are easy to move, and they keep young plants away from slugs while they’re small.

Planting out

Plant out from April to late June, when the young plants are 10 to 15 cm tall with five or six true leaves.

1. Choose a sunny spot that had a hungry crop such as beans or peas last year, as part of a crop rotation.
2. Tread the soil firm. Don’t dig it just before planting.
3. Plant 60 cm apart, in rows 75 cm apart, a little deeper than they were in the pot.
4. Firm each plant in hard. A gentle tug on a leaf shouldn’t move it.
5. Water well, and cover with fine netting straight away.

Nasturtiums, dill and mint grow well nearby. Keep sprouts away from strawberries.

Summer care

Netting keeps off cabbage white butterflies and pigeons, which are the two biggest problems. Use a mesh fine enough to stop butterflies, held clear of the leaves on hoops.

Water in dry spells, especially in the first few weeks. In late summer, draw soil up around the stems, and stake plants on windy sites, as they grow to about 90 cm. Remove yellowing lower leaves as they appear.

Picking

Start at the bottom of the stem, when the sprouts are firm and about the size of a walnut. Snap them off downwards, a few from each plant at a time. More form above as you go, and plants keep cropping for around three months.

At the end, cut the top off the plant. Sprout tops cook like spring greens.

Common problems

Blown sprouts. Loose and open. Firm the soil and stake.

Caterpillars. Holes in leaves through summer. Check under the leaves for eggs and keep the netting closed.

Whitefly and aphids. Clusters under the leaves. Usually more of a nuisance than a threat. Wash off with water.

Clubroot. Stunted plants with swollen roots. It stays in soil for years, so rotate brassicas and raise the soil’s pH with lime if it’s acidic.

Sow alongside your kale for winter greens, and set your own frost dates on the Brussels sprout page.