Planting, Growing, And Harvesting Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts: the little green globes that get a bad rap—until you grow your own! When grown right, these cool-season veggies are sweet, tender, and packed with nutrition. Best of all, they actually improve after a light frost. Whether you’re new to growing or ready to level up your fall harvest game, here’s everything you need to know about cultivating Brussels sprouts in your garden.

About Brussels Sprouts

Named for Brussels, Belgium, where they were first cultivated in the 16th century, brussels sprouts are a vegetable that is commonly seen in the grocery store, but not-as-commonly seen in the home garden. This is probably because they aren’t the easiest vegetable to grow! They require a fairly long growing season (80–100 days to harvest) and are a cool-season crop, meaning that they produce best when grown for a fall or early winter harvest. The sprouts improve in flavor after a light frost or two.

Buy Seeds Now

As long as you plant them at the right time, keep them cool and well-watered during the heat of summer, and protect them from pests, brussels sprouts are a rewarding vegetable crop to grow—an accomplishment!

Brussels sprouts are a cultivar (cultivated variety) of wild cabbage, Brassica oleracea, which is the same plant species that cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, and a number of other popular food crops stem from. Over generations and generations, this versatile plant has been bred in different ways to highlight its different features—flowers, leaves, buds, stem, and root—to provide us with a wide variety of foods! Brussels sprouts form as buds along the main stem of the plant, just above each leaf axil.