Have you ever tried to grow Brussels Sprouts in the garden but had little success?
Many of us plant these nutritious little members of the cabbage family far too late in the season, leaving the plant no time to mature in growth before the sprouts form.
To plant your Brussels Sprouts simply:
Till your soil to a depth of around 20cm, water well and then till again, adding a generous amount of garden lime and well rotted manure.
Dig a furrow and plant your seedlings in the channel created and sprinkle a little blood and bone around the new plants.
As your plants grow, gradually bring the soil in around the bases of your plants and feed regularly with a high nitrogen fertilizer in the early days (a liquid feed of Sulphate of Ammonia works well).
By the end of May your plants should be around 80cm – 1m in height and should have a nice hill of soil around their base to support them.
This is the time to stop feeding with a nitrogen based fertilizer and time for a little sprinkle of Sulphate of Potash, then it's simply a matter of waiting for the buds to form in the late winter and then a regular harvest of the emerging sprouts.
