Someone, somewhere once gave bad advice on cooking Brussels sprouts and it stuck. People everywhere began overcooking the sprouts, turning them into a sulphur-emitting mush. This made them smell no better than an overcooked sports kit that had been enclosed in an airtight bag. With few people having the appetite for soggy wet socks, this bad rap still lingers today.
If you still have the smell of a dirty sports bag imprinted on the back of your nasal palate, it’s time to cleanse it and begin to realise the true beauty of a Brussels sprout. For us it’s one of the perfect vegetables, the very best of the brassica family in a textured, bite-sized parcel. It’s like small mini hearts of cabbage, but without the fodder of leaves everywhere. It gets right to business and is perhaps the perfect accompaniment to butter and garlic.
Growing Brussels sprouts at home is a test of your gardening aptitude, but success comes with reward. Seeing the sprouts spiral around the stem of the plant is real viewing pleasure – one of the garden’s best – and then there’s the anticipation of the butter and garlic.
PLANTING
Propagate seeds in a seed tray and then transplant to the garden once seedlings are approximately 10–15cm tall and soil temperatures have cooled below 18 degrees celsius. Feed with fish fertiliser immediately after planting and then cover with fine insect netting.
WATERING
In ground: Water daily for the first 4 weeks and 2–3 times a week in the absence of rainfall thereafter.
In Pots: Water daily for the first 4 weeks, or until the weather becomes consistently cooler, and then cut back to watering every second day.
MAINTENANCE
Transplant the seedlings into the patch. Use netting to deter white cabbage moth. Mulch to a depth of 3–5cm with pea straw or lucerne hay.
As hungry feeders the sprouts will appreciate monthly feeds with liquid fish emulsion.
After a couple of months thin out the seedlings to the required spacing.
At 12 weeks apply compost to the patch, but don’t over-fertilise with nitrogen, as this will cause the sprouts to become loose and puffy.
Harvest around 16 weeks by cutting the sprouts loose, starting at the base, which is where the more mature ones will be. As the plant produces, pick off any yellowing leaves.
HARVESTING
Time until first harvest: About 16 weeks
How to harvest: Cut or twist sprouts loose from stem, starting at the base where more mature sprouts will grow and then working your way up.
TIP
Net to prevent white cabbage moth from laying its larvae. Once you have conquered this pest, you’re more than halfway there.
