How to grow and cook brussels sprouts in Canberra

If you have been able to establish an autumn planting of brussels sprouts then you could be looking at a wonderful winter treat. You can pick the sprouts upwards from the base of the plant's trunk when they are tightly closed and continue to pick up the stem for several weeks.

Brussels sprouts are a rich and healthy winter vegetable. They are a very good source of vitamin C and vitamin K, as well as many other vital nutrients and dietary fibre.

Many folk can only recall eating heavy, long-picked sprouts. However, if you are growing your own, you can be eating tender, freshly picked young sprouts with much enjoyment. They will cook best if they are cut into segments. Boil or steam but do not overcook.

You can use tender brussels sprouts in dishes in a similar way to red cabbage or saute them with fresh butter. Add in cooked bacon pieces or diced apple or both. Combine with red onions and feta cheese as a side salad.

It is fascinating to me that this vegetable is a cabbage "gone wrong". Well, the positive way of putting it is to say it is a sort of cabbage plant that grew a tall stem and under its cabbage head, produced all of these sprouts up its trunk. The first records were in the Brussels region of Belgium back in 1750, hence the name.

Like all brassicas, you will have needed to get the seedlings well established in the garden bed in late summer. Seedlings that have five to six weeks growth should be planted out in February or March so the root systems can take advantage of the warm soil conditions. Brassica plants need to be well developed before the cold frosty nights arrive and slow the maturing processes considerably.

Keep the plants growing by giving them a complete liquid feed of fish emulsion or seaweed-based spray every two or three weeks. When the sprouts begin to set do not provide any more growing supplements as you want the sprouts to form tight buds.

Brussels sprouts will produce a good crop over the winter months and the cold nights are a bonus in enhancing the flavour of the sprouts. Even overnight snow will not damage the plants. If you have been able to get the plants to grow heavenwards then you should earth up around the stem base to provide some support if strong winds arrive. The tallest varieties of brussels sprouts can benefit from staking.

As with other brassica crops, you will need to work assiduously at keeping the cabbage moth and slatey-grey cabbage aphid at bay. Any caterpillars that arrive need to be removed and killed as soon as they are spotted. Remove first sightings of larvae and caterpillars by hand. Apply the bio-insecticide Dipel regularly, making sure that you thoroughly cover the undersides of the leaves. The finely woven Marix frost cloth can be used to drape over the entire crop, providing the best insect protection.

Brussels sprouts, apple and bacon

500g brussels sprouts
3 red onions
1 large golden delicious apple
250g bacon
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
salt and pepper

Remove any faded leaves from the brussels sprouts and cut into quarters and partially steam. Slice the red onions. Peel, core and dice the apples, into large chunky pieces.

Cut the bacon into medium-sized pieces and cook over medium heat in a heavy-based frypan until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Add the grapeseed oil to the remaining bacon fat and add in the sliced onion and apple, and cook over medium heat. Stir regularly until well cooked. Then add in the brussels sprouts and capsicum slices and cook for a further minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This week in the garden

* Sow some rows of broadbeans, as well as shelling peas, particularly into garden beds that have been supporting fast-growing leaf crops over summer.

* Carrots continue to grow well this month. Remove some baby carrots as you need them for dinners, providing the remaining plants with more space to grow.

* Allow late season apples, especially granny smith and rome beauty apples, to hang on the tree until they are fully ripe so that they develop their full complement of sweetness.

* Select a garden bed that can be dedicated for a six-month crop of garlic and prepare it well, ensuring that you will provide very good drainage and enrich with compost. Buy reputable Australian-produced seed garlic.

* Dedicate space for composting the many autumnal leaves that are beginning to fall. They will provide a good element for future compost when mixed in with animal manures, grass clippings and kitchen vegetable scraps.

Owen Pidgeon runs the Loriendale Organic Orchard near Hall.