Growing vegetables: Brassicas

Growing Vegetables: Brassicas

Brassicas – also known as the cabbage family – need to be carefully rotated around your growing space as they are very susceptible to diseases such as club root, which can live in the soil for years.

Brassicas grow really well in the autumn months, but once the very cold winter weather kicks in they find it much harder to thrive.

To try and combat this, we sow our brassicas in three lots, so that we have varieties stretching right through the autumn and winter months.

Cutting Cabbages

When cutting cabbages, it is essential that you use a sharp knife, as brassica stalks can be very tough. We remove the very outside leaves at this point, which are the ones that tend to have holes in, but we keep the remaining outer leaves on, as these, though tough, can be cooked.

Brussels Sprouts

It's important to get your Brussels sprouts in the ground as early as possible, with the middle of June the optimum time.

The variety of sprouts that we grow is called 'Groninger' and we get these from a seed supplier called Tamar Organics.

At the beginning of October, check that your Brussels sprouts are beginning to form. At this point, if you were to leave the plant 'as is' it would continue to grow taller and taller and put its energy into producing new leaves, not sprouts.

To prevent this, you need to remove the sprout top. These tops are actually highly prized in the restaurant industry for their tenderness and sweetness, and the majority of the sprout plants that we grow are grown just for these tops. Once these tops are removed, the plant will put all its energy into producing the sprouts.

Cauliflower

The greens on a young cauliflower are just as delicious as the cauliflower itself, so if you grow your own you will get to experience these, which are never available on cauliflowers that you find in supermarkets.

Tinty

'Tinty' is a relatively new early to mid-autumn cabbage that is sweet enough to eat raw.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a really enjoyable crop to grow. While you can grow it just for the main floret, if you would like to get more out of your broccoli plant, then you should cut your floret off at a higher point.

By doing this, the part of the stem you are leaving behind will then sprout new broccoli stems, much like tenderstem broccoli. You can then harvest these over the coming months.

Things to Consider with Brassicas

If you want to grow a lot of brassicas, then you will need a lot of space. At Fern Verrow, we leave nearly half a metre of space between our brassicas. They are also big feeders, so you will need to give them adequate amounts of food if you want them to grow well. If you have a smaller space, then consider growing something like cavalo nero, which takes up much less room and will give you a continuous supply of leaves.