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How to Plant and Grow Brussels Sprouts

unharvested brussels sprouts on the stalk
Image Credit:
Pixabay
Botanical Name
Brassica oleracea
Grown as
Annual
USDA Zones
2a
2b
3a
3b
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
10a
10b
Toxicity
Non-toxic
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
1–3 feet
Spread
1–3 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Special Features
Winter Interest
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Plant Type
Vegetables
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Brussels sprouts: those little green globes that get a bad rap—until you grow your own! When grown right, these cool-season veggies are sweet, tender, and packed with nutrition, and actually improve in flavor after a light frost. 

Whether you’re new to growing or ready to level up your fall harvesting game, here’s everything you need to know about cultivating Brussels sprouts and how to harvest the absolute best-tasting sprouts around.

Planting

When to Plant Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a slow-growing, long-season crop that grows best in cool weather and can turn bitter when temperatures get too high.

Most varieties take between 80 and 100 days to reach a harvestable size when grown from transplants, which is the recommended growing method. I get the best results by planting nursery-grown transplants outdoors about 90 to 110 days before the first fall frost. 

If you’re a reasonably savvy gardener, you can also start plants indoors from seed by sowing the seeds about 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost date. However, this is a trickier process!

Where to Plant Brussels Sprouts

Choose a planting site that gets full sun or about 8 to 10 hours of direct light per day. Raised beds are especially good for cool-season vegetables—particularly in the spring and fall when temperatures are irregular.

Brussels sprouts crave lots of nutrients, so be sure to work several inches of aged manure or compost into the soil before planting.

How to Plant Brussels Sprouts

To plant, work compost into the soil and then plant transplants at the same depth they were growing in their nursery pots. Firm the soil around the base of the transplants, space multiple plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows located about 24 to 30 inches from each other, and water well. Adding mulch around the base of your plants will keep weeds down.

If you’re growing sprouts from seed, plant 2 seeds 1/4 inch deep per pot or planting cell and thin the weakest seedling out with fingernail scissors once true leaves form. Remember to harden off indoor plants before transitioning them outside.

Brussels sprouts ready to pick

Growing

Watering

Inconsistent moisture can lead to subpar sprout development. To avoid this, provide Brussels sprouts with about 1 to 1½ inches of water per week, and add mulch around the base of your plants too.

Fertilizing

Brussels sprouts are heavy feeding plants. For bigger sprouts, side-dress plants 2 to 4 weeks after planting or when the plants are 12 inches high using an organic, high-nitrogen fertilizer. Reapply the fertilizer every 3 to 4 weeks after that.

Pruning or Maintenance

As they grow, Brussels sprout stems can easily reach over 2 to 3 feet tall and may require staking. Removing the yellowing leaves at the bottom of the plant boosts light levels around the plant’s stalk and helps increase sprout size. When working around your sprouts, take care not to disturb their roots as they’re shallow and easily damaged.

Seasonal Care

Like other brassicas, Brussels sprouts are prone to pests like cabbage loppers—especially right after planting. Protecting young plants with row covers can help. You can also try out organic pest control measures like BT thuricide.

  • If you want to encourage sprouts to mature faster, cut off the top leaves 3 to 4 weeks before harvest.
  • If you intend to harvest sprouts into winter, leave the plant’s top leaves intact as they provide protection from snow. Then, cover plants with 10 to 12 inches of mulch.

Brussels sprout plants in a field

Harvesting

When to Harvest

Brussels sprouts are typically harvested from fall to early winter and taste sweeter after a light kiss of frost. Sprouts mature from the bottom of the stalk upwards and are ready to pick when they’re about 1 inch in diameter. Ripe sprouts should be firm and green and have tightly closed leaves, while overripe sprouts will look yellow and open.

How to Harvest

Individual sprouts can be snapped off the plant’s stems with your fingers or cut free with a sharp knife. You can also pull the entire stalk of the plant up, roots and all.

Storage

Stalks of harvested Brussels sprouts can be stored in a root cellar or basement for about a month once you trim the roots free. Individual sprouts last about 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge when stored loosely in a plastic bag, but they’ll keep even longer if you blanch and freeze them. For longer storage, don’t wash Brussels sprouts until just before use.

Brussels sprouts on the plant
Photo by audaxl/Getty Images

Pests and Problems

Common Problems

  • Undersized sprouts can be caused by heat stressed or low nutrient soil. It may also result from harvesting sprouts too early!
  • Bitter flavor can ruin sprouts that are planted too late in spring and subjected to hot weather. That’s why it’s best to plant Brussels sprouts for cool weather harvesting.

Common Pests

  • Aphid infestations can leave Brussels sprout leaves misshapen and yellow and cause distorted sprout growth. Growing companion plants can help to naturally deter these pests, while active infestations can be dispelled with your garden hose or treated with an organic insecticidal soap spray.
  • Cabbage loopers are small, green caterpillars that bore ragged holes through Brussels sprouts and their leaves. Using row covers or BT thuricide are the most reliable ways to prevent looper issues, but you can also deter loopers with companion planting and adding feeders near your garden to attract visiting birds.

Plant Diseases

  • Black rot is a fungal issue that causes plant leaves to turn yellow and develop v-shaped brown lesions that eventually collapse. Infected plants should be destroyed, while future issues can be prevented by growing resistant cultivars and rotating crops seasonally.
  • Clubroot is also caused by a fungus and produces wilted and stunted plants, yellowing leaves, and distorted root growth. Keeping soil pH levels slightly alkaline can help to minimize risks of this disease; however, if clubroot has already made its way into your garden, you’ll want to destroy infected plants and potentially solarize the soil too.

Types

Different varieties of Brussels sprouts come in different colors, mature at different rates, and offer other specific perks. Here are a few of our favorite picks and what makes each stand out.

  • ‘Diablo’ is a famously heavy producer and excellent pick if you want a bumper crop of sprouts.
  • ‘Falstaff’ produces striking reddish-purple sprouts that hold their color even after cooking.
  • ‘Jade Cross’ is a high-yielding and compact plant with resistance to some diseases and better heat tolerance than most.

Wit and Wisdom

  • In 2013, a team of scientists and schoolchildren lit an 8-foot-tall Christmas tree in London with the energy from 1,000 brussels sprouts or a total of about 62 volts.
  • Brussels sprouts were first cultivated in Brussels, Belgium, in the 16th century—which is how these veggies got their name!
  • Like closely related cabbages, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower, Brussels sprouts are a cultivar of the wild cabbage, Brassica oleracea, which was carefully cultivated over generations to produce a wide variety of our favorite cool season vegetables. 

Vegetables

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Suzanna</span> Sun, 05/21/2017 - 20:09
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?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 05/25/2017 - 11:41

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.

 <span>Kaitlyn</span> Tue, 03/28/2017 - 20:23
HI, I live in Northern California in the Sierra Nevadas in the Tahoe National Forest area at about 2000 ft. elevation. I planted a dozen brussel sprouts as starts that I bought back in late Sept/ early Oct. 2016 and they have been slow to get going through the very rainy, cold winter season. I fed the soil with Borax (Boron) which I diluted a tablespoon of the powder with a gallon of water when I first planted them. I mixed dried chicken manure with the soil and covered the soil around them with straw. Some of the plants leaves have turned red or yellow at the bottom of the stalks and then about half of them just started to bolt and flower before they had a chance to get tall enough to start growing sprouts. What could I have done wrong or what could I have done or do differently? Please help.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 04/04/2017 - 16:58

Sometimes young brussels sprout plants will bolt if they are exposed to cold temperatures over a few weeks, such as below 40F. To avoid this, you can select slow-bolting types, or plant when the weather is warmer. You might also have your soil tested to see if it has too little, or too much, of a needed nutrient. Hope this helps!

 <span>Suzanne</span> Mon, 03/06/2017 - 14:11
I planted my brussel sprouts seeds in September of last year (ideal planting time for my area per the low desert planting guide). The plants sprouted within 4 days and grew throughout the winter (we had a wet but mild winter). It's been 5 1/2 months, the leaves are green and hearty, however, there is still no stalk growing. Given the length of time it's been, do you think there is a chance we will get sprouts this spring? It's going to be getting hot here soon (up in the 80s this week). :-)
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 03/08/2017 - 11:52

This is a puzzle, Suzanne. Do you mean there is no stalk? Or there are no sprouts on the stem? Brussels sprouts like—no, love—rich, composted soil that contains aged cow manure. While we can not be certain that's what has stunted the plants' growth, soil is the source of many problems. Spread some compost/manure soil mix around, and scratch the soil a bit to "open" it (be careful not to disrupt roots). Then water as needed to soak the soil mix so it will soak into the ground.

While these plants prefer cooler conditions, we grow them here in New Hampshire through some pretty hot spells, so you may be ok. Let us know how it goes.

 <span>Mark</span> Wed, 02/01/2017 - 02:11
I stubbornly planted my brussel sprouts this past May (in Portland, Oregon) where I should have planted them in February. As such, of the two plants I grew from seed, one survived. Said plant grew very slowly and resiliently through Summer, then Fall and on through this Winter. It is now a modest 6" tall, never produced more than a few leaves and has more life than ever, with the cold upon us. My question is: Is my plant going to produce sprouts this year, even though I started it last year?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/06/2017 - 16:08

I'm not sure if your plant will produce sprouts. It has certainly been a trouper, though! The shorter days may have something to do with its very slow growth. Perhaps it might perk up toward springtime, provided that temperatures do not dip much below 20F in the meantime, and other environmental conditions are optimum. Normal planting time for fall/winter harvest in your area is about August, for November through January harvest, depending on cultivar, timing, etc. Keep an eye out for signs of bolting (which can happen in late winter for summer-planted sprouts).

 <span>Sharon Schlegel</span> Sat, 09/17/2016 - 11:23
This my first year growing brussel sprouts, my plants are about 4 feet high with lots of little sprouts on them. I saw a video that said to trim the bottom big leaves off, which I did. Now I just don't know when I can harvest them. Also I heard they will come up again next year is that true.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 09/19/2016 - 15:21

You can harvest the brussels sprouts when they are between 1 and 2 inches in diameter and still firm - do not wait until leaves yellow. The sprouts on the lower part of the plant will mature first. Brussels sprouts are biennials, meaning that they will flower and set seed the next year and then the plants will die. Most gardeners treat this crop as an annual, unless they are saving seed the second year.