Join Charles Dowding & Minty the Cat to check out the Brussels Sprouts! In this lesson you'll find out how to clear away your plants in Spring with minimal soil disturbance. 

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It's November here so these mighty Brussels Sprouts have grown especially tall for this time of the year, and have got a lot longer to grow, that's because of a very wet summer! Sprouts love water! So shake off those leaves and see what you're working with today! 

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Charles recommends staking your sprouts. This helps them grow vertically, taking up less room & making it easier to harvest.  When spring arrives and you need to make room for a salad bed, if you've made support with posts for the plants begin by removing them.

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Then use your feet to press the ground down on top of the roots. Sprouts have a really awesome and large root structure, leaving this in place is fantastic for the microbes, fungi & worms! 

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Use the long strong stem to lever and twist the plant away, hopefully at surface level. 

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Food for Thought: While they grow tall in Autumn & Winter, try mulching and weeding the larger space under your Brassicas, it's one less job to do in the spring. Once you come to clear these stalks the No Dig bed is already prepared for your new plants!

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