Brussels sprouts are a cultivar group of cabbage (Brassica oleracea) grown for their edible buds, which form along thick stalks. They are a cool-season crop that does best in mild weather and takes 90 to 180 days from planting to harvest.
Family
Brassicaceae (Cabbage family)
Light
Full sun
Water
Keep soil consistently moist, especially during head formation, with deep watering rather than frequent light sprinkling.
Soil
Fertile, well-drained loam rich in organic matter, with a pH of about 6.0 to 7.5.
Temperature
7–24 °C (45–75 °F), with highest yields at 15–18 °C (59–64 °F); tolerates light frost.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
About
The Brussels sprout, also known as "Brussel sprouts", is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (Brassica oleracea), grown for its edible buds.
How to grow it
Predecessors to modern Brussels sprouts were probably cultivated in Ancient Rome. Brussels sprouts as they are now known were grown possibly as early as the 13th century in what is now Belgium. The first written reference dates to 1587. During the 16th century, they enjoyed a popularity in the southern Netherlands that eventually spread throughout the cooler parts of Northern Europe, reaching Britain by the 17th century.
Brussels sprouts grow in temperature ranges of 7–24 °C (45–75 °F), with highest yields at 15–18 °C (59–64 °F). Fields are ready for harvest 90 to 180 days after planting. The edible sprouts grow like buds in helical patterns along the side of long, thick stalks of about 60 to 120 centimetres (24 to 47 inches) in height, maturing over several weeks from the lower to the upper part of the stalk. Sprouts may be picked by hand into baskets, in which case several harvests are made of five to 15 sprouts at a time, or by cutting the entire stalk at once for processing, or by mechanical harvester, depending on variety.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Brussels sprout by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.