How to grow Brussels Sprouts

Learn how to grow Brussels Sprouts with this comprehensive guide. Get info on sun requirements, spacing, planting, feeding, harvesting and more!

Brussels Sprouts require rich, deep soil, firm with plenty of well rotted compost mixed in. 

Plant Brussels Sprouts in a full sun position.  

Yes, Brussels Sprouts are frost tolerant. 

Space your Brussels Sprouts roughly 60cm apart. 

Brussel Sprouts are a cool season crop and are usually planted in autumn, depending on your climate. 

Seeds can be sown in late summer for transplanting in autumn. Seeds can also be direct sown in autumn. 

If transplanting, plant out in the early morning or evening and/or on an overcast day. Avoid planting at peak sun times or on windy days, this will allow your plants to settle in comfortably and protect them from windburn and sunburn.   

Feed your Brussels Sprouts plant with an organic fertiliser throughout the season. 

Harvest the Brussels Sprouts from the bottom of the plant upwards when the sprouts are roughly the size of a golf ball. 

Pests that can affect Brussels Sprouts include: Aphids, Slug, Snail, Cabbage Moth, Cabbage White Butterfly, Diamondback Moth, Flea Beetle, Cabbage Looper, Cabbage Worm, Root Knot Nematode. 

Diseases that can affect your Brussels Sprouts plants include: Alternaria Leaf Spot, Black Rot, Club Root, Downy Mildew, Fusarium Wilt, Powdery Mildew, Sclerotinia Stem Rot, White Rust. 

Protect young Brussels Sprouts seedlings from pest damage at the time of planting. 

Use fine mesh or exclusion netting to prevent white butterflies laying eggs on the underside of leaves, caterpillars be detrimental to this plant. Supportive stakes may be required to hold up the plant once it has developed sprouts.