Not sure exactly for your zone, but brussel sprouts take 120 days, quite a long season crop. They can handle hard frosts below 28f.

My planting dates for b sprouts seeds are June 5-10. Err on the side of earliness. As long as you add compost and fertilizer after the garlic comes out, b sprouts make a good relay crop.

Thank you . Planatus do you start your seeds indoors then set them out? Do you find that they tolerate hot July and August weather?

I'm growing brussels sprouts for the first time, too, and like you say, it's difficult to get consistent information on when is the best time to plant them out. Some say mid-summer for late fall harvest, others say put them out in the spring so they have the entire summer to mature.

I was planning to go with the mid-summer dates until I talked to someone who has an extensive garden about an hour away from me, and he said he puts his BS out in the spring with the cabbage and broccoli and lets it grow all summer and fall. He says the idea is to get them big enough by July/August that they can withstand the heat. So I started my seeds inside in mid-April and transplanted them into the garden 3-4 weeks later. This is a month later than I put out my broccoli and cabbage, but I figure splitting the difference was worth trying.

They've been in the ground about 2.5 weeks and are still small, but seem healthy. Since my DTM always seem to be longer than what the seed packets say, I'm going to hope that this is indeed the best strategy and that I'll be able to harvest them in October and November, after it gets cold.

Fingers crossed for both of us! Maybe we can report back through the summer with progress reports and figure it out together. :)

For direct seeding, 4 months before first fall frost is good. For starts, mid-May - they take 4-6 weeks to be ready for transplanting.

Thanks for the replies. I just started my seeds :)

deleting duplicate post.

This post was edited by AiliDeSpain on Sat, May 25, 13 at 14:25

I first saw fall brassica seedlings growing in a greenhouse in Tennessee where it was at least 90 degrees. Since then I have been amazed at how much heat they can take. In fact, if you start too late and the plants are not big enough to take advantage of late summer warmth, b sprouts, broccoli, rutabaga etc won't make a good crop.

Some people set up an outdoor nursery bed for growing seedlings in summer, but I let mine germinate indoors and grow them on the deck, under a glass-topped patio table. It filters a little sun and keeps my little nursery from getting swamped by thunderstorms.

It's hot summer when I set the seedlings out, so I cover them with flower pots for a couple of days after transplanting, and then install a tulle tunnel to prevent aggravation from cabbageworms and armyworms. B sprout seedlings take several weeks to outgrow that little setup, but eventually the plants get huge and produce all through Oct and Nov.

I'm going to start some broccoli too.