How to grow brussels sprouts
Frost-hardy · Cabbage family
When to sow and plant
- Start indoors 22 February – 8 March
- Plant out 8–22 March
Based on: average for Germany, last frost 19 April, safe from 6 May
Planting calendar for your areaWhere the dates come from
The weeks come from our sources; the dates use the average frost in Germany. Enter a German postcode to get dates for your area.
- Start indoors: 6–8 weeks before the last frost (Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County: Beginning a Vegetable Garden)
- Plant out: 4–6 weeks before the last frost (Illinois Extension: Cool-Season Vegetables (Infosheet, 2024))
Good and bad neighbours
Good neighbours · 4
BasilStudy· B
In the same garden trial, basil next to Brussels sprouts also paid off (higher combined yield).
B: Hint from one study
Pea, Sugar snap and snow pea, Bush bean, Pole bean, Runner bean, Broad bean (fava bean)Expert rule· C
Legumes fix nitrogen that cabbage can use – but it is only released once their roots rot.
C: Expert rule with a reason
PeaSugar snap and snow peaBush beanPole beanRunner beanBroad bean (fava bean)
Butterhead lettuce, Loose-leaf lettuceExpert rule· C
Lettuce grows fast in the gaps between young cabbages and is picked before the cabbage closes the rows.
C: Expert rule with a reason
RadishExpert rule· C
Radishes are harvested between the sprouts before these shade them out.
C: Expert rule with a reason
Disputed · 3
GarlicDisputed· X
Charts call garlic a bad neighbour for cabbage. Field trials in China and India instead found fewer cabbage white caterpillars, aphids and diamondback moths.
X: Sources disagree
OnionDisputed· X
Charts call onions a bad neighbour for cabbage. A field trial in India found fewer diamondback moth caterpillars next to onions.
X: Sources disagree
KohlrabiDisputed· X
According to the garden academy, early kohlrabi fits the gaps between young cabbages; BUND advises against other brassicas as neighbours.
X: Sources disagree
Gardeners’ lore, not proven · 2
NasturtiumLore: good· D
Nasturtium is said to lure pests away from cabbage (trap crop); this is not proven.
D: Tradition, named by at least two sources
Crop rotation
After the cabbage family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years).
- The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.
- Example: grown here in 2026, again from 2031.
- If clubroot has appeared in the bed: no plants of the cabbage family for at least 7 years, not even mustard as green manure.
- Heavy feeders two years in a row on the same bed are not a mistake, but they take more out of the soil.
At a glance
- Family
- Cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
- Nutrient needs
- Heavy feeder
- Frost
- Hardy, tolerates frost
- Spacing (row × plant)
- 60 × 60 cm (24 × 24 in)
- Plants per m²
- 2.8
- Per square foot (30 × 30 cm)
- 1 plant per 2 squares
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Harvest
- After 80–100 days from planting
Spacing according to RHS: How to grow Brussels sprouts. Other sources: 84 × 53 cm (33 × 21 in) (Virginia Cooperative Extension: Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide (426-331/SPES-673P), Table 5).
Questions and answers
When can I plant out brussels sprouts?
Plant out, average for Germany: 8–22 March. Enter a German postcode above for your area, or your own frost date in the planting calendar.
How far apart should I plant brussels sprouts?
60 × 60 cm (24 × 24 in) (row × plant), according to RHS: How to grow Brussels sprouts.
What grows well next to brussels sprouts?
Basil: Good neighbour (B), Pea, Sugar snap and snow pea, Bush bean, Pole bean, Runner bean, Broad bean (fava bean): Good neighbour (C), Butterhead lettuce, Loose-leaf lettuce: Good neighbour (C), Radish: Good neighbour (C) and Garlic: Disputed (X).
How long a break do brussels sprouts need in the same bed?
After the cabbage family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years). The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.
More from the cabbage family
Sources
Show 20 sources
- Südtiroler Bauernbund: Merkblatt Fruchtfolgen im Gemüsebau (Oktober 2022)
- Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein: Fruchtfolge im Garten (Gartenmerkblatt, 2020)
- Illinois Extension: Cool-Season Vegetables (Infosheet, 2024)
- UT Extension D59: Cole Crops for the Tennessee Vegetable Garden
- RHS: How to grow Brussels sprouts
- Virginia Cooperative Extension: Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide (426-331/SPES-673P), Table 5
- NYC Parks GreenThumb: Square Foot Gardening (Growing Veggies in NYC Training)
- Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County: Beginning a Vegetable Garden
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (über die GBIF-API, species/match)
- Bomford 2004: Yield, pest density, and tomato flavor effects of companion planting in garden-scale studies incorporating tomato, basil, and Brussels sprout (Diss., West Virginia University)
- Oregon State University Extension: Companion Planting (Guides for beginning gardeners, Juni 2021)
- RHS: Growing Your Own – The three sisters
- BUND: Mischkultur – Gute und schlechte Nachbarn (August 2026)
- Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Anbauplanung im Gemüsegarten (o. J.)
- RHS (Guy Barter): Three ways to use companion planting
- Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Übersicht – Kultur verschiedener Gemüsearten im Hausgarten (o. J.)
- Miao, Gao, Jiang, Wang 2013: Effects of Intercropping of Cabbage and Garlic on Major Pests and Arthropod Community in Spring Cabbage Fields. J. South China Agric. Univ. 34(3): 352
- Sharma et al. 2022: Potentiality of intercropping in managing Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). Indian J. Agric. Sci. 92(8): 1010–1014
- Oregon State University Extension: Herbs and Flowers in the Vegetable Garden (o. J.)
- Utah State University Extension (Mohr, Trundle, Hagevik): Creating Sustainable School and Home Gardens – Companion Planting (Juli 2025)
Retrieved on 23 October 2026. Facts in our own words, one source per value.