Also receive the 蜜桃恋人 Daily newsletter including gardening tips, weather, astronomical events, and more.
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Brussels Sprouts
Learn how to grow brussels sprouts, a cool-weather crop that is planted in early spring or mid- to late summer for a crop that matures in the fall. These nutritious vegetables taste even better after a few light frosts! Here鈥檚 how to plant, grow, and harvest brussels sprouts in your garden.
About Brussels Sprouts
Named for Brussels, Belgium, where they were first cultivated in the 16th century, brussels sprouts are a vegetable that is commonly seen in the grocery store, but not-as-commonly seen in the home garden. This is probably because they aren鈥檛 the easiest vegetable to grow! They require a fairly long growing season (80鈥100 days to harvest) and are a cool-season crop, meaning that they produce best when grown for a fall or early winter harvest. The sprouts improve in flavor after a light frost or two.
As long as you plant them at the right time, keep them cool and well watered during the heat of summer, and protect them from pests, brussels sprouts are a rewarding vegetable crop to grow鈥攁n accomplishment!
Brussels sprouts are a cultivar (cultivated variety) of wild cabbage, Brassica oleracea, which is the same plant species that cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, and a number of other popular food crops stem from. Over generations and generations, this versatile plant has been bred in different ways to highlight its different features鈥攆lowers, leaves, buds, stem, and root鈥攖o provide us with a wide variety of foods! Brussels sprouts form as buds along the main stem of the plant, just above each leaf axil.
Growing
- Thin young plants to 12 to 24 inches apart when they reach 6 inches tall.
- Fertilize with a nitrogen-rich product after thinning. Repeat every 3 to 4 weeks.
- Mulch to retain moisture and keep the soil temperature cool through summer.
- If growing during hot weather, be sure to keep the plants well watered. Inconsistent moisture can lead to subpar sprout development. Brussels sprouts should receive about 1 to 1陆 inches of water per square foot per week.
- Consider using row covers to protect young plants from pests. Brussels sprouts are usually planted outdoors right when pests are at their worst!
- Do not disturb the soil around the plants; roots are shallow and susceptible to damage.
- Brussels sprout plants usually reach heights of 2 to 3 feet, so plan accordingly; they may require staking.
- Remove yellowing leaves at the bottom of the plant to allow for more sunlight on the stalk and to focus plant energy on healthy growth.
- To encourage the sprouts to mature faster, cut off the top leaves 3 to 4 weeks before harvest.
- Note: If you intend to harvest sprouts into winter, leave the top leaves of the plant intact; they provide protection from snow. Also, cover plants with 10 to 12 inches of mulch.
Harvesting
- Sprouts mature from the bottom of the stalk upwards. Harvest sprouts from the bottom when they reach about 1 inch in diameter.
- If desired, after a moderate frost, pull up the entire stalk, roots and all. (Remove leaves first.) Then hang stalk upside down in a cool, dry basement or garage or barn.
- Store stalks (no roots) for about 1 month in a root cellar or basement.
How to Store Brussels Sprouts
- Do not wash the sprouts before storing them, only right before use.
- Keep fresh-picked sprouts in a plastic bag for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Cooking Notes
We prefer roasting sprouts鈥攖hey have a lovely carmelized flavor!
Catherine Boeckmann
ADVERTISEMENT
I planted my sprouts in April and have no sprouts yet! The greens were eaten up fairly bad because I'm organic gardening. Will they grow still? It's August!
There is still the possibility that they will grow. Depending on the variety, it may take 90 to 120 days from the time you transplant out in the garden to harvest. (Before that, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks to grow the transplants indoors, once they germinate). Also the plants do not like the heat—keep them as cool as possible if you are in a hot climate. By end of August and into September, you should start to see some sprouts form. If the plants are stressed, though, there is the possibility that they will not form, or that they will be delayed. Depending on your location, planting transplants in the garden in June or July will help the crop to mature during the cooler fall weather; if they mature in summer’s heat, it can sometimes cause problems. For best planting advice for your area, you might contact your county’s cooperative extension. For contact information, see:
/content/cooperative-extension-services
Hope this helps!
I started my Brussel Sprouts indoors a few weeks ago and a few of them have sprouted. However, they are about two inches tall, skinny and fragile and keep flopping over in their seed starting-size pots. Do they need more or less sun, more or less water? This happened with my lettuce I started indoors last year as well and I'm totally puzzled. I so want them to grow from seed this year!
Hi Ashley,
Starting seeds indoors need a lot of light. It sounds like your brussel sprouts didn’t get enough sun and are trying to grow long and reach for it. Bring the sprouts outside for a few hours each day (not on rainy days) or set up a few grow lights about 4 inches over the sprout heads to help them out (low-energy LED bulbs or florescent work best; avoid using bulbs that heat up over time).
I planted 8 started plant , they are growing great and look very healthy. I have tried to read as much as I can on them ( I tried once before and had no idea what I was doing , resulting in no sprouts). The plants are now 2 ft. tall and I have trimmed some of the lower leaves off, I don't know when I need to trim more I do see young sprouts on I just don't want to screw them up. Some of the lower sprouts as they got bigger look like they are unraveling is there something I should be doing? Sorry for the long letter and thanks for any advise you can send my way.
Your challenges are almost exactly those of another gardener at this time a year ago! So the issues are common. This is what we told him (it’s posted below); hope it helps!
The sprouts will grow on their own, without leaf removal, but for larger sprouts, it helps to remove some of the leaves. When a leaf below a sprout begins to turn yellow, you can remove it to give the sprout more room to grow, as well as exposing it to more sunlight. It also helps the plant to focus its energy on developing the sprout rather than maintaining a decaying leaf. Trim the leaf back to about 1 inch from the main stem.
Some gardeners do this earlier on, when the lower sprouts are just begin to develop, or when they are about half the size that they鈥檇 like them to be. Often, one would work on the lower third of the plant first, then as the middle third of sprouts develop to the proper size, those leaves would be trimmed as well. One should leave the top third or so leaves on the plant, so that it can make food for itself.
If plants form sprouts that are loose, not compact, it might be due to high temperatures at the time the heads develop (temperatures should be below 75F or so). Next time, time your crop so that it starts to form heads during cooler weather of autumn. Keep up with the fertilizer/compost, too, and keep soil evenly moist. Mulch will help.
I planted three Brussel sprout plants in mid May this year. This is the first time I've tried planting Brussel sprouts. It is now mid June, and the plants look extremely healthy. The stalks look to be about 3/4" in diameter, and about 3-4 inches tall, but so far only leaves are growing out from the stalks. We had a mild/wet spring in NW Ohio, but has been extremely hot lately. Is there anything I need to be doing now to promote the sprouts?
See the CARE guidance above, Joe. Sprouts like cool conditions; that’s why it’s wise to mulch at the stem. (They almost seem to slow or stop growing when it gets hot, although that might be my imagination at play.) As noted above, too, fertilize. A balanced formula is sufficient, just don’t over do the nitrogen. Sprouts need the better part of the season to come to full maturity and a sweetened by a touch of frost. Water them when the ground dries our, but beyond that, just wait and watch. Good luck!
I realize I planted my five sprouts wayyyy too close to one another, probably about 4 inches apart. They've been growing for almost 2 months, and look to be on good track. Is it better to leave them alone and hope for the best, or risk moving them?
You might want to just cut some off at the soil line (thinning out your plantings)—do not pull the plants up, as they may disturb the roots of the plants you are keeping.You could keep them all, but they likely would not yield as well as ones that have more room to grow, or be as vigorous in the long run.
