Post date: May 19, 2020 1:15:32 AM
Brussels Sprouts are not everyone’s favorite vegetable. But given the health benefits many want to give it a shot. If you ate them in the middle of winter, when the freezing temps make them crisp and sweet, you might change your mind forever.
Ideally they are sown in the Fall in the colder North. As temps fall. Then the plant is ready to yield soon as frost sets in.
Brussels sprouts are tough to grow in Atlanta. They need a cool climate of 70 Deg F or lower, to grow for 100-120 days from seed. The sprouts set after that typically in the winter. The plant will yield only in cold temps and when days are short. No point planting them in Spring in Atlanta. The summer bugs will total them.
The only way to grow them is to bring the plant to maturity for setting fruit in the winter. Easy in the north with a cold Fall preceding Winter.
The problem in Atlanta is that there is no 120 day period of low temps before winter. It is easy to plant store bought plants sometime mid October for a short cut. The sprouts will begin setting in winter.
If you must grow from seeds, you have to sow early June and wait for first four weeks for the seeds to germinate and for the plant to be big enough to be put on the ground or in a pot. And then you guard it for 100 days until mid October, when it is ready.
If you manage to grow an adult plant before first frost, dodging the Atlanta heat with a combination of shade nets, iced water, and everything you can do to keep the plant protected, you can hope to get a harvest in the winter.
So Rani Arun and I have decided to give this plant a shot. This year. We will begin sowing from May 22. Be prepared to sow in batches all the way until we get half a dozen viable plants before frost. Join us if you like to experiment with us.
This is the inverse of indoor sowing. Modifying the micro climate to prep a plant for the winter. We are excited about that experiment. Join us if you wish. Watch this space!