Brussels Sprout Bright F1 plants - Brassica oleracea gemmifera

The 'Bright' F1 Brussels Sprout is a hybrid variety, early and resistant, which produces tasty small sprouts, well spaced on the stem for easy harvesting. Carefully cooked, Brussels Sprouts pair well with lard, smoked bacon, but also with chestnuts. They can be consumed cooked, sautéed, braised or even in gratin. Quickly steamed, they are also excellent cold in salads. The seedlings of the 'Bright' F1 Brussels Sprout are planted in May and June, for a harvest from September to December.

Brussels Sprouts are a vegetable whose axillary buds are consumed, forming small heads also called "buttons". It is a biennial vegetable plant cultivated as an annual. Brussels Sprouts belong to the large Brassicaceae family (formerly Cruciferae), like other cabbages: cauliflower, broccoli, smooth-leaved cabbage (or white cabbage), blistered-leaved cabbage (or Savoy cabbage), red cabbage or curly cabbage, kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage etc. Brussels Sprouts bear the Latin name Brassica oleracea gemmifera. Latin enthusiasts will appreciate the name "Gemmifera" which refers to gemstones.

Originating, unsurprisingly, from Belgium, this cabbage is a hybrid developed in the 14th century by market gardeners from Saint-Gilles (a municipality in the near outskirts of Brussels), concerned with increasing their productivity. Indeed, growing vertically, Brussels sprouts take up little space on the ground and thus allow for abundant harvests in a minimum of space.

An autumn and winter vegetable par excellence, Brussels sprouts have a mild, slightly sweet flavour. They are a vegetable rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants, and vitamins C and B.

Brussels Sprouts are a much less demanding vegetable than the majority of cabbages, they thrive in the sun and in moderately rich soil, especially without excess nitrogen. Soil that is too generously fertilised would result in the production of too small, open or burst heads.

Harvest: Brussels sprouts are harvested starting from the bottom of the stem and by cutting the small heads with a knife. The harvest takes place from September to December.

Storage: Brussels sprouts can be stored for 3 to 4 days in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. They can also be frozen very well after being blanched for 3 to 5 minutes in salted boiling water.

The gardener's tip: The main enemy of cabbage, the cabbage white butterfly (Pieris brassicae), is a pretty creamy white butterfly with small black spots that wakes up from April-May to wreak havoc all summer by devouring its leaves. Don't be caught off guard and opt for prevention by installing an insect-proof cover, tightly fitted on market garden hoops. These covers are easy to put in place and reusable to protect, for example, your carrot and leek crops.