How to Plant Brussel Sprouts in the Pacific Northwest

Few vegetable-garden sights are stranger than Brussels sprouts growing on the stalk.

If you haven't tasted Brussels sprouts fresh off the plant and steamed to a light, sweet flavor, you haven't tasted Brussels sprouts. The sprouts are tiny cabbagelike heads produced in the axils of leaves. The sprouts start developing at the bottom of hardy stems and continue upward, developing and growing until heavy frost. Light frost, however, usually improves flavor, especially if days are warm and sunny. Because Brussels sprouts are cool-season vegetables with a long growing season, they do particularly well in the Pacific Northwest when started as early to mid-summer transplants.

Things You'll Need

• Rich compost
• Well-rotted manure
• Garden shovel
• Trowel
• 5-10-10 or similar fertilizer
• Nitrogen-rich fertilizer, inorganic or organic
• Pine straw mulch

Instructions

1. Prepare the planting area well in advance allowing organic matter to break down and begin releasing its nutrients. Spread 2 inches of compost and 3 or 4 inches of well-rotted manure. Dig both into the soil and thoroughly mix them into the top 6 inches of topsoil.

2. Work the soil again and dig in high-phosphorous fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, broadcast at the rate of 5 lbs. per 100 square feet one week before planting. For good flavor and yield, Brussels sprouts need uninterrupted growth and a steady nutrient supply.

3. Dig planting holes for transplants as deep as the plants sit in their containers. Space the holes 24 inches apart in rows 30 to 36 inches apart. In raised beds, the plants need 24 inches in all directions.

4. Transplant each plant. Firm the soil around each plant and water the entire bed well. The plants should be about six weeks old when transplanted.

5. Mulching the soil with lightweight pine straw conserves soil moisture, keeps the soil cool and deters weeds. Keep the mulch away from the plants' base.

6. Fertilize the plants several times with a side dressing of high-nitrogen fertilizer starting three weeks after transplanting. Apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer again two weeks later and once again two weeks after that.

7. Top the plants, or remove the apex or apical bud, when plants reach their full height and lateral buds start developing. This encourages earlier lateral bud development.

8. Start harvesting as sprouts, the lowest, reach maturity three to four months after transplanting, depending on the variety. Break off the leaf directly below the sprout. Snap the sprout from the stalk. Continue harvesting as long as plants produce.

Tips & Warnings

• If you start Brussels sprout plants from by seed in the Pacific Northwest, sow seeds by May 1 for a good fall crop.

• Early Brussels sprout varieties may mature from 80 to 125 days when planted from seed.

• Gardeners in mild winter Western areas might try late varieties, which take 125 to 200 days to mature.

• East of the Cascade Range, pull the plants before the temperatures drop below 10 degrees Fahrenheit and store them in the basement. Bury the plant roots in a box of damp sand. Remove the developing sprouts as needed.

• Don't delay picking after leaves beneath sprouts begin turning yellow because the sprouts become tough and lose their flavor.

References

• Oregon State University; Late Spring is Best Time to Plant Brussels Sprouts; Judy Scott
• University of Illinois Extension; Brussels Sprouts; Ron Wolford, et al.
• West Virginia University Extension; Growing Brussels Sprouts; N. Carl Hardin; 1968
• Washington State Univwesrity Extension: Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening

Resources

• Oregon State University; Brussels Sprouts; August 2004