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| I bought some Long Island Brussel Sprout seeds. Do I direct sow outdoors in spring or plant some seeds in flats now to transplant later on in early spring? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| You need to plant some seeds in flats now to transplant later on in early spring. Brussel Sprouts will not germinate until too late in the season if directly planted. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Germ temps
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| Thankyou, will do now! :) |
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| Wait til late June to start the seeds and work for a fall harvest. Spring planted brussels won't make tight sprouts and will be very bitter. Brussels matured in the cool fall will last into winter and be sweet and tender. |
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| I could try direct sowing some more seeds in June also. We'll see what happens! Thankyou all! |
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- Posted by AiliDeSpain 5a (My Page) on Wed, Feb 27, 13 at 1:29
| I am planning on brussels for a fall harvest as I heard they will not do well for a spring planting because it will be too hot for them to mature in summer. |
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| Brook is right, only I would shoot for June 5-10 as the planting date. If you start in spring, the plants will be exposed to high heat just when they are mature enough to initiate buds. The buds will blast (go leafy) and not taste good. By waiting until late June to set out plants, they reach max size in August and start budding in September. I actually learned this important lesson from a gardener in NE Ohio. |
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| Hmmmm I am in zone 5, and the only way brussles sprouts have worked for me was to plant seedlings in April, which would mean starting seeds now, as wertach suggested. They matured in the fall and I ate them in December. We don't have high heat here. (nothing over low to mid 80's) So it must all really depend upon your zone, and your summers (all zone 5's are not created equal.) Sounds like trying both planting times, and keeping notes, will be the way to find out what works for you. |
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| One other thing no one mentioned is that many brussel sprout varieties mature differently. There are early, mid and late season ones. "Long Island" seems to be listed as a mid. Last year I grew "Cumulus" which is listed at 170-180 days (mid-late). I seeded the first week of May (in flats) and had sprouts for sale a few weeks before Thanksgiving. The sprouts held great over the winter and I only just finished harvesting off these plants last week. Another variety like "Gustus" could be seeded the same time and be ready as early as september. I've never tried any early sprouts as they don't hold well and are prone to serious aphid damage where I live. |
This post was edited by madroneb on Thu, Feb 28, 13 at 1:12
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| Be prepared to protect the seedlings from white cabbage butterflies and aphids over the hotter months. Provide a bit of shade if the weather stays hot and dry. (Shade cloth is good.) And lime the soil a little. They like a sweet soil with plenty of well-matured compost added so they are generously nourished. If they are a tall variety and your garden is windy, you might need to stake them. |
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