How to Grow Brussels Sprouts in Pots

Brussels sprouts can't tolerate frost, but they grow best in cool weather. Hot, dry weather results in bitter-tasting sprouts, so the plants are typically grown as fall crops. Planting Brussels sprouts in containers allows you to plant them even if your garden beds are full of summer vegetables. Transplant four-week-old seedlings into pots so the vegetables have a head start on the short fall growing season.

Pots
Potting soil
Slow-release fertilizer
Soluble fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Mix 1 tablespoon of a 14-14-14 or other balanced fertilizer blend with 3 gallons of well-draining potting soil. Water the soil until it is evenly moist, but not soggy or muddy.
- 2
  Prepare a 12-inch diameter, 12-inch deep pot in late July or early August, approximately 100 days before the first expected frost. Fill the pot with the moistened potting soil, leaving a 2-inch space between the soil surface and pot rim.
- 3
  Plant one Brussels sprout seedling in the pot. Set the seedling in the pot at the same depth it was growing in its seedling container.
- 4
  Place the pot in a location that receives full sunlight. Locate the pot near a water source to ease irrigation.
- 5
  Water the Brussels sprout every day or two, or when the top inch of soil feels dry. Soil in a pot dries out more quickly than soil in a garden bed. Brussels sprouts become bitter or produce poorly if the soil is allowed to dry out completely.
- 6
  Fertilize the Brussels sprout plant every two weeks with a soluble fertilizer, beginning six weeks after planting in the pot. Use a high-nitrogen vegetable fertilizer at half the rate recommended on the label.
- 7
  Harvest the sprouts from the plant as they reach an inch in diameter. Continue harvesting from the plant until all the sprouts have matured.

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