Space plants 60cm apart in rows 75cm apart.
Brussels sprouts are ready to plant out when they have at least four true leaves. The tiny cotyledons, seed leaves, don’t count.
Prepare the soil well.
Soak the pot of plants with water the night before planting out.
A dull, damp day is ideal for planting out. The young plant will lose a lot of water and dry out if it is hot and sunny. In hot weather transplant at the end of the day so that the plant has a chance to settle down over night.
Take the plants out of the pot by placing a hand over the plants and tipping the pot upside down. The soil ball will fall out of the pot into your hand. Turn the ball the right way up and gently tease the roots apart to separate out one plant.
Make a hole in the ground that is as deep as the roots are long. Place the plant in the hole so that the bottom leaves are almost at soil level. Gently push the soil around the roots to fill in the hole.
Hold the leaves to keep the plant vertical whilst firming the soil down. Sprouts like very firm conditions.
When all the plants are in, water them well. Keep the soil damp for a week or so, until the plants look well established.
Pull weeds out as they appear. This will remove any competition for water and nutrients.
Support
After a couple of months, the stems will have grown tall and they may need supporting. This will stop them blowing over in the wind and keep them upright so they do not fall in to each other. The sprouts are easier to pick from an upright stem. Knock a stake into the ground so that it is firm and tie the sprout stalk to the stake.
Harvest
The sprouts at the bottom of the stem will be ready first.
Traditionally each stalk is picked three times. The bottom third first. The middle sprouts are picked a week later and the top sprouts a week after that. However, on some modern varieties (F1's) the sprouts come to maturity all at the same time.
To harvest the sprouts, knock off the bottom leaves that cover them. Then get hold of one sprout with all the fingers of one hand and sharply twist it off. Pick into a bowl. Do not pick the sprouts when they are frozen as they go soggy and taste nasty.
Varieties
To spread the harvest, and to ensure a continual supply of sprouts, plant three different varieties - early, mid-season and late sprouts. The mid-season will give you home grown sprouts for Christmas dinner and the late varieties will provide welcome greens in late spring when there is not much else about.
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Any questions? Email us or give us a call on 01904 400092.
