Brussels Sprout Plant 'Red Darling'

Feeding and Watering – As they are hungry and thirsty plants, attention needs to be given to the correct nutrients in the soil and constant watering through their growing season. Along with high Nitrogen levels, ensure there are trace elements present in the soil, as this will help to reduce and leaf issues. If leaves do start to show yellowing, then a liquid high nitrogen can be applied. Brassicas especially need Boron and Magnesium to ensure constant healthy growth. Keep watering consistent rather than dry and soaking, especially when the weather is hot. 

Spacing – Brassicas can take up a lot of room, but modern varieties have been selected to give the same size of produce with less unnecessary leaf, or small overall size without reducing head size in cauliflowers and cabbage etc. Brassica roots are quite shallow and will spread wide, so getting the spacing right is crucial. All the varieties differ and check the specific spacing on the web site. In general the spacings are as follows 

Broccoli – 45cm between each plant and 60cm between rows. 

Brussel Sprouts – 50cm – 60cm between each plant and 50cm between rows. They can benefit from staking too especially in windy areas. 

Cabbage – 30-45cm between each plant and 40cm between rows. 

Cauliflower – 40-50cm between each plant and 50-60cm between rows. 

Kale – 30-40cm between each plant and 40-50cm between rows. 

Pests and Diseases – Brassicas can attract a wide range of pests such as slugs, aphids, whiteflies and caterpillars. There are a wide range of controls of these available many biological as most chemicals are now not available or not desirable to be used. A fine netting place over young plants and kept on until harvesting, is a good way to prevent many of these. Clubroot is a problem for many brassicas, many modern varieties are now introduced specifically as they are Clubroot resistant. Often clubroot can be reduced with the addition of lime and ensuring alkali soil pH. Brassicas should not be planted in the ground each season and should be at least 3 years before going back to the same location. This reduces the build up of pests and soil diseases. 

When Crops are ready – Look out for the following for each of the product types. 

Broccoli – Calabrese or Single heads, these will turn dark green and should be one complete head, the buds should be tight and compact and feel quite solid to touch. Pick immediate if the head start to turn yellow or if flowers start to appear. Once the central head is removed, leave the plant in place as side shoots and new heads will often form. 

Sprouting Broccoli – spears will appear and start to elongate, leave these to grow until the top heads are all similar in size but still tight and not starting to open. The spears grow quickly so keep an eye on them. Leave the plant in the ground as other spears will form and can be harvested. 

Brussel Sprouts – you should see small pea size buds forming at the leaf joint with the main stem. These will grow and swell until they are the size you would expect from a Brussel Sprout. They should be tightly packed and pick from the ground up as these were formed first. Twist and snap them off as required. Once you get to the top of the stalk and all sprouts are harvested, then the whole plant can be dug up. 

Cabbage – If the variety is a firm headed one like savoys, round and pointed, then pick when the head reaches the size you want but only when it is firm to touch. It is best to lift the whole plant and cut the head out from the leaves. These can then be composted. This reduces the risk of clubroot disease developing.  

Cauliflowers – similar to Cabbage, head should be firm to touch and even in colour. Keep a close eye as they become mature, as they can open and split quite quickly. Pick white varieties when they are a nice clean white, as they can turn yellow quickly and loose quality of taste. 

Kale – These can be picked over a long period as you are picking the outer leaves regularly, encouraging younger leaves to be produced in the centre of the plant. Pick a handful at a time and don’t take off too many as this can weaken the plants. Do not pick the centre leaves as this will stop the plant growing. Pick regularly so the outer leaves are removed, even if you don’t need them. Leaving leaves on to the plant to wither will slow the growth of the new central shoots. Most Kales benefit from cold which improves the taste and plants can be left all winter in the garden, but still harvest outer leaves as needed. 

Bolting – this is when the plant starts to go to flower early than required and can be caused by stress or incorrect cropping timings. This could be from being too dry so ensure they are moist at all times; too warm, keep the roots mulched well to keep them cool; too late harvesting, keep a regular eye on them and harvest as soon as you think they are ready. There are several varieties that are now classed as resistant to bolting so try to grow these varieties. 

Brassica Plugs, Garden ready and 9cm pots.

Upon Receipt - Our Brassica plants are grown under cool conditions and are hardened off ready to be planted direct into their final position. When you receive your plants, remove them from their packaging immediately.

Give them a good water, plugs can be put into a shallow dish of water and leave for a few minutes for the plug to soak up the water. Pots and Garden ready packs can be watered overhead with a fine rose spray. If particularly dry, plunge them into a bucket of water until no air bubbles are seen from the compost.

Ideally, they then need to be planted, however, if you can’t plant straight away, place the plants in a cool shady part of the garden, out of the wind and keep moist until ready to be planted.

As brassicas are mostly leaf, they need a high level of nitrogen to get the best from them. Well-rotted manure provides a lot of this, but adding in specific high nitrogen fertiliser will also be of benefit during the most vigorous growth periods.