• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
DIY Doctor
MENUMENU
  • DIY Doctor menu logo
  • Home
  • DIY Projects
    • All Projects
    • Brick, Block, Marsonary and Concrete
    • Damp, Condensation, Rot and Woodworm
    • Doors, Windows and Conservatories
    • Electrical
    • Fencing, Decking, Paving and Patios
    • Floors, Walls, Ceilings and Lofts
    • Garages, Sheds and Outbuildings
    • Gardening and Landscaping
    • General Building, Self Build and Renovation
    • General Repairs and Cleaning
    • Green Living and Eco DIY
    • Ground work, Foundations and Drainage
    • Heating, Central Heating and Boilers
    • Joinery and Carpentry
    • Materials, Fixings and Fixing
    • Painting, Decorating and Finishing
    • Planning Regs, Project Management and Safety
    • Plastering, Plasterboard and Rendering
    • Plumbing
    • Roofing and Gutters
    • Tiling and Tiles
    • Tools, Appliances and Access
    • DIY Tips
  • UK DIY Forums
  • DIY Videos
    • Bathroom DIY Videos
    • Building Foundation Videos
    • Building Videos
    • Carpentry and Woodworking Videos
    • Damp and Damproofing Videos
    • Decorating Videos
    • Electrical Videos
    • Fitting Blinds Videos
    • Flooring Videos
    • Gardening Videos
    • Green and Eco Friendly Videos
    • Hand and Power Tools Videos
    • Heating and Central Heating Videos
    • Kitchen Videos
    • Plastering and Drylining Videos
    • Plumbing Videos
    • Security Videos
  • Find Tradesmen
    • Find a Tradesman
    • Contract Download
    • Working with Tradesmen - Ultimate Guide
    • Home Improver Protection
    • Price Doctor
  • Tool Store
    • Tool Store
    • Bookstore
    • Tool Reviews and Product Reviews
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • DIY Competitions
  • About us
    • About DIY Doctor
    • What we do
    • Trade Shows and Exhibitions
    • Master Classes
    • Contact Us

Home > DIY How To Projects and Tutorial Guides > How to Grow Brassicas – Grow Your Own Cabbages, Cauliflower, Kale, Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts

How to Grow Brassicas – Grow Your Own Cabbages, Cauliflower, Kale, Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts

Find out all there is to know about growing Brassicas from the best preparation techniques to all the essential growing tips you need

Don't want to do this job yourself? Let us help you find a tradesman local to you

TwitterFacebookPin ItBuffer
Project MenuProject Menu
  • How to Tutorial
  • Video
  • Find Tradesmen
  • Help

Brassicas are a really versatile family of vegetables, and with a little planning they can keep you fed throughout the year.

What Are Brassicas?

The leafy brassica family includes cabbages, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Swede, turnips and radishes are also part of the family.

Kale is a very easy member of the brassica family, so it’s a good one to start with if you’re new to brassicas. It has the added bonus that you can pick a few leaves at a time rather than having to wait for it to form a head, like a cabbage. Purple sprouting is another great vegetable to grow – it can be expensive in the shops, and it’s really nutritious as well as tasty. Brussels sprouts are fun to grow, and there’s nothing like eating your own crop for Christmas dinner!

Cabbages can be very rewarding when they grow well, and very disappointing when they don’t! It’s worth trying a couple of different varieties, as you may find you have better luck with some than others. Cauliflower are the trickiest of the lot to get right, so perhaps worth waiting until you’ve got some experience with other brassicas.

Preparation

Brassicas like a bit of shade, so pick an area that won’t be in full sun all day if you can. Ideally, you should begin by digging your brassica patch over in the autumn, adding a good dose of compost or well-rotted manure to it and working it in well. Once dug, trample over it to make it nice and firm, just how brassicas like it.

Brassicas can be quite picky about the soil they grow in. They like a pH of 6.5 to 7.5, so get a soil tester and add some lime to the soil if it’s too acidic.

Growing Brassicas From Seed

You might decide to buy young plants at a garden centre, but if you have a greenhouse it’s worth a go at growing your own plants from seed. Also all brassicas benefit from being started off under glass, so don’t be tempted to just sow them straight in the ground.

Sowing in modules makes it easier to transplant the plants at a later date – these are sets of small, square plantpots, joined together. Fill the modules with seed compost and water it well. Try to place just one seed in each module, so you don’t need to worry about disturbing the roots later by thinning them out. Scatter some fine compost over the top of the seeds.

Winter brassicas should be sown in spring – April is usually about the right time.

Planting Out Brassicas

Once the plants reach about 8cm (3”), or 15cm (6”) for kale and Brussels sprouts, they should be ready to plant out. Make sure you give the young plants a good soak the day before you move them. Dig a hole in the soil with a trowel and pour some water into it, remove the plant from the module carefully and place it in the hole, then fill in the sides and firm it down well.

Spacing will depend on the type and variety – check the seed packet for information.

Growing Tips for Leafy Vegetables

These leafy plants will benefit from a couple of feeds. Use a nitrogen-rich feed once when you plant them out in June, and again in September.

Most brassicas are quite drought-hardy, but they will need watering when you first plant them out, until they are settled in and well-established.

If you don’t want your brassicas to be decimated by caterpillas, set up netting over them. Make sure the netting is high enough for taller plants like kale and purple sprouting. The netting will also stop the brids from going after young, tender plants.

Whitefly are another pest that enjoy brassicas. They are unlikely to decimate your crop, so you can choose to spray them, or just wash them off when it comes to eating the leaves.

Slugs and snails love brassica leaves, so put down pellets or set beer traps.

Rotate crops each year to avoid diseases. There are a large number of diseases that can affect brassicas, from club root to wet rot. If any plants do become infected, remove and destroy them. Making sure the ground is limed and well-drained will help to combat these diseases.

All project content written and produced by Mike Edwards, founder of DIY Doctor and industry expert in building technology.

TwitterFacebookPin ItBuffer

Video

Back to the Top

Apologies, but we don't seem to have a video for this project yet, but we will do our best to get one up soon

Find a Reliable Local Tradesman

Back to the Top
Don't fancy doing this project yourself? We work with the industries best to ensure that we recommend only reliable and trustworthy tradesmen.
Let DIY Doctor help you find a tradesman

Find a tradesman now!


Give us Some Feedback!
Was this page useful:
We read and respond to all feedback by email. To allow us to do so you will be added to our email list, however you can unsubscribe at any time using the links at the bottom of any of our emails. Find out more in our privacy policy. Any DIY questions should be posted to our Forum
Sign me up to the DIY Doctor Newsletter:

Primary Sidebar

DIY Doctor deal of the week

DIY Utility Kit:

Build your own work bench!

RRP Price: £49.99

Special Price: £39.95

Get it here now

See our other deals now!

Master Basic DIY - By DIY Doctor

Our Book - Master Basic DIY

Grab your copy now for all the DIY help you need right at your finger tips!

Buy it Here!

Signup for our Newsletter

Keep up to date with our DIY projects, tips and latest deals

Sign Me Up!

Our Sponsors

Find out about advertising on DIY Doctor

Advert

Footer

DIY Doctor

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Media/Press
  • Community Work
  • DIY Projects
  • DIY Videos
  • Superstore
  • DIY Tips
  • DIY Suppliers
  • UK DIY Forum
  • DIY Webinars

Other Stuff

  • Advertise
  • Competitions
  • T and Cs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • NHIC
  • Sitemap

DIY Doctor Social Channels

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on YouTube
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Tumblr

DIY Doctor are members of:

© DIY Doctor Ltd 2021 All Rights Reserved