Plant Brassicas in June & July

Brassicas are just perfect for being planted in mid June and July. Most will be ready to harvest in late autumn/early winter and many will over-winter too for harvesting in late winter/early spring. It’s always nice to have that slightly later crop available, and it’s nice to extend the planting season too.

Essentially there are two seasons for planting brassicas – in early spring for harvest in autumn, or in mid-summer for harvesting in winter and early spring the following year. The main ones to think about for June and July planting include:

  • Brussels Sprouts – they should be just cropping for December and will keep going through to February
  • Cauliflower and Romanesco – expect a late autumn harvest
  • All Cabbages – to harvest in late autumn and early winter
  • Broccoli – depends on the weather, but you can expect a flurry of sprouting broccoli in late winter/early spring
  • Kale – planting now will give you plenty of autumn leaves and a continued crop into winter

If you are planting brassicas in the next few weeks, be sure to tick these three jobs off the list:

  1. Protect them from pigeons who are notorious for nibbling at brassica leaves when nobody’s looking! A net or light horticultural fleece will do the job.
  2. Protect them from cabbage white butterflies who will jump at the chance to lay their eggs on your brassica plants. Again, light horticultural fleece will do the trick.
  3. Put a brassica collar around the base of the stem to protect from cabbage root fly. Simply cut a 10cm disc out of cardboard, cut a slit into the middle (and a couple of extra small 1cm slits at the centre to give the stem a bit of space) and place it around the stem. This will stop the larvae of the cabbage root fly from burying into the roots of your brassicas.