Last edited by shiny on November 08, 2026. View history
Red Brussels Sprouts
A variety of brussels sprouts
How to sow red Brussels sprouts: Sow seeds indoors, harden off seedlings before transplanting outdoors
Sun requirement for red Brussels sprouts: Plant in Full Sun
Brussels sprouts grow on the sides of stalks up to 91cm tall. The stalks are covered with leaves and the sprouts look like miniature cabbages. They are a cool weather crop and are delicious roasted.
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Red brussels sprouts facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For red Brussels sprouts, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 7°C and a shortest growing cycle of 100 days at its best temperature, about 900 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your red Brussels sprouts will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing red Brussels sprouts
- Sow seeds in trays 5 weeks before planting out
- Dig compost into the bed 2 weeks before planting out
- Harden off the seedlings 1 week before planting out
- Firm the soil well around the stems at planting out
- Net against cabbage white butterflies at planting out
- Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails at planting out every week
- Water regularly at planting out every week
- Check leaves for caterpillars 2 weeks after planting out every week
- Stake the plants 8 weeks after planting out
- Earth up around the stems 10 weeks after planting out
- Pull off yellowing lower leaves 4 weeks before first harvest
- Pick sprouts from the bottom up at first harvest every week
- Cut the top for greens 6 weeks after first harvest
How members grow red Brussels sprouts
Sunniness
Planted from
Plant red Brussels sprouts with
cumin
german chamomile
Photos
Photos
Red brussels sprouts plantings
Video
Where red Brussels sprouts grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
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Red brussels sprouts harvests
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 100 to 130 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera L. [Zenker]
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Dilleniidae Capparales Cruciferae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: -5 °C, rest: -5 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual, biennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
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