Good enough to eat

●●Brussels sprouts THANKS to supermarkets, sprouts are available all year round and many chefs have used innovative skills to make them more interesting.

But they are a winter vegetable that taste best if you grow them yourself.

Brussels sprouts need rich soil and plenty of space, so you’ll need a vegetable plot for a good yield as only a small part of the plant is eaten.

Sow seeds in 9cm pots from mid-March to April, keeping them outside in a sheltered spot or coldframe, making sure the compost remains moist, but not waterlogged. Dig over the ground where they’ll be planted, adding garden compost or well-rotted organic matter.

Thin the seedlings to one per pot and when they are 15cm high, they can be moved to their final position.

Water the rows in well and plant the lower leaves just above the soil surface, allowing 50-90cm between plants.

Complete planting by early June, keeping the soil around them weed-free and adding nitrogen-rich fertiliser to the soil, watering in if the weather is dry.

Draw soil around the base of late varieties and stake the taller types. By October, you should be harvesting the first of the sprouts.

Cut off the young sprouts as you need them, doing it from the bottom of the stalk. Only pick what you need as the rest can stay on the plant until you are ready.

It is said that picking sprouts after they have thawed from a frost makes them taste sweeter.