BRUSSELS sprouts are probably the most important cold weather crop in the garden, providing nutritious fresh vegetables through autumn and winter.

You can gather them as early as September, but flavour is much improved by a sharp frost and so I seldom start picking before early December.

By growing mid-season and late varieties harvest is extended until early March. The buttons are rich in vitamin C and other nutrients, especially when eaten raw and delicious shredded to mix with finely grated carrot, russet apple, chopped nuts and herbs in a crunchy winter salad.

I like to use my Brussels sprouts very soon after gathering, but they freeze well and there is no need to blanch if you are going to eat them within a short time e.g. if preparing those for Christmas dinner before the children’s school holiday begins, or at onset of a snowspell when harvesting may be difficult.

Derived from the wild cabbage that grows wild on the white cliffs of dover, Brussels sprouts look like a whole lot of miniature cabbages growing all round a central stem.

They were developed and have been grown in Belgium since early in the 13th century.

But, their commercial production in this country dates back only to Queen Victoria’s time.

Modern F1 Hybrids bred for vigour, uniformity and maturing at one time have greatly improved quality and I would not recommend growing any others. Although you still find old varieties such as Bedford Fillbasket listed in seed catalogues.

The F1s produce better yields per plant and they hold for longer in good condition.

Starting off At one time almost everyone started all plants of the cabbage family from seeds sown in a patch of short rows in the open garden.

Over the years more and more gardeners have gone over to sowings seeds in pots, pricking out into modules and growing them into well-developed seedlings to plant out in the part of the garden where they will grow until harvest.

A sturdy plant is far less vulnerable to slugs and other pests and providing it is watered regularly will grow away far more quickly than a bare-rooted plant lifted from a seed bed.

If you are new to kitchen gardening, or short of time, you can buy in pot-grown seedlings.

but this can prove so expensive that you may pay more for a plant than you would for a feed of sprouts.

Give Brussels sprouts an early start as they are slower growing than most cabbages. I sow seeds of a mid-season variety in a pot in my cold greenhouse in early March.

Prick newly germinated seedlings out into modules or individual five to nine centimetre (2-3in) pots to grow on for planting in the middle of May.

In late March I sow seeds of a late variety and treat in just the same way to give plants to go out at end of May.

Planting Brussels sprouts like a fertile soil that has been well-supplied with organic matter, enjoying alkaline conditions. On acid soil you may need to add lime during winter.

The plants do best in an open sunny position on well-cultivated, but firm land, as light fluffy soil can lead to ‘blown’ loose sprouts rather than the tight buttons we all want.

A neighbour of mine used to go over his site with the garden roller before planting. I’ve never thought that necessary, but I do firm each plant in really well with my heel and tread the soil, around the stem.

Plant at 60-75cm (24.30in) apart using a trowel, making sure the module is buried and with bare-rooted plants covering 5-7cm (a good inch) of stem to help quick establishment and good anchorage.

Water generously and give each plant about a quarter pint of water every day in the first month after planting should weather be dry.

Aftercare Apart from watering in dry spells and occasional weeding Brussels sprouts need little aftercare once established until late summer when yellowing lower leaves should be removed and added to the compost heap.

Taller plants may need staking in an exposed garden.

From midsummer covering the plants with fine mesh plastic netting will keep away the cabbage white butterflies so prone to lay eggs that develop into the caterpillars than can ruin a sprout crop.

An organic gardener, who never uses pesticides and is too squeamish to pick off and squash the caterpillars, I found this past summer that washing them off the plants with the hose every two or three days almost overcame the problem.

Next year I’ll start early so the butterfly eggs are washed off before hatching.

In late winter cover the plants with a coarse plastic netting held a bit above their tops to keep away the wood pigeons. These can devour an entire garden crop in a few days unless immediate action is taken at first signs of attack.

If the plants are slow to button up, you can hasten this by cutting out the tops, which are very good to eat.

These tops can be ruined by hard frost and so I always cut and eat them when very cold weather is forecast.