At Elkton I dry garden
Brussels sprouts by sowing late April to early May. Started this
soon, even late-maturing varieties may begin forming sprouts by
September. Though premature bottom sprouts will "blow up" and become
aphid damaged, more, higher-quality sprouts will continue to form
farther up the stalk during autumn and winter.
_Spacing: _Make each spot about 4 feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ Without any added moisture, the plants will become
stunted but will survive all summer. Side-dressing manure or
fertilizer late in September (or sooner if the rains come sooner)
will provoke very rapid autumn growth and a surprisingly large yield
from plants that looked stress out in August. If increasingly larger
amounts of fertigation can be provided every two to three weeks, the
lush Brussels sprouts plants can become 4 feet in diameter and 4
feet tall by October and yield enormously.
_Varieties: _Use late European hybrid types. At Elkton, where
winters are a little milder than in the Willamette, Lunet (TSC) has
the finest eating qualities. Were I farther north I'd grow hardier
types like Stabolite (TSC) or Fortress (TSC). Early types are not
suitable to growing with insufficient irrigation or frequent
spraying to fight off aphids.
Cabbage
Forget those delicate, green supermarket cabbages unless you have
unlimited amounts of water. But easiest-to-grow savoy types will do
surprisingly well with surprisingly little support.
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