Brussels Sprouts
Brassica oleracea (Gemmifera group)
Long-season cool-weather cole crop (Brassica oleracea, Gemmifera group — the same species as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kale) grown as an annual for the small, tight leafy buds ('sprouts') that form in the leaf axils up a tall, single stalk. Adapted across USDA hardiness zones 2-9 with timing and cultivar selection, it is among the most frost-tolerant vegetables: flavor sweetens after exposure to light frost and plants commonly stand into late autumn, tolerating temperatures down to roughly 20F. Because the crop needs a long, steadily cool finish to set firm, mild sprouts, production is timed so that the sprouts mature in the cool part of the season — typically transplanted in late spring to summer for a fall-to-early-winter harvest; in mild-winter zones plantings can be overwintered. Sprouts form sequentially from the bottom of the stalk upward and are hand-picked over several passes, or the whole stalk is cut once the lower sprouts are firm. Marketed fresh on the stalk or as loose sprouts, and increasingly as a frozen processed product.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Grows best in fertile, well-drained yet moisture-retentive soil at pH 6.0-7.0. Brussels sprouts are heavy feeders that require consistent moisture (about one inch of water per week); moisture stress produces loose, poorly filled, bitter sprouts. Typical time to first harvest is about 85-110 days from transplant, longer from direct seed, making this one of the longest-season brassicas. Sprout quality improves with cool weather and light frost, so most growers schedule maturity for autumn; 'topping' (removing the growing point) once the lowest sprouts reach about an inch can be used to even up sizing. Major insect pests include imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, diamondback moth, flea beetles, cabbage maggot, aphids (which lodge inside the sprouts), and the swede midge; key diseases include Alternaria leaf spot, black rot (Xanthomonas), blackleg, and clubroot. Rotate at least 3-4 years away from other cole crops and manage soil pH to suppress clubroot. Harvested sprouts are perishable: hold cold (near 32F) and high humidity; loose sprouts keep roughly two weeks refrigerated, and whole cut stalks store longer in a cool cellar.
Growing Season
- Plant
- late spring – midsummer
- Harvest
- early fall – early winter
Yield
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
1 active buyer on record purchasing this crop.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "stable".
Supply Below Demand
Commodity vegetable — regional and national supply is well established, limiting headroom for new entrants.
Multiple Buyer Channels
1 recorded buyer and 6 documented market channels. Multiple routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
6 documented market channels, including value-added and direct-to-consumer routes.
Market Growth Projected
Mature vegetable market; growth over a 5-year horizon expected to track population rather than outpace it.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 2-9; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop GDD minimum not recorded. Region accumulates 2500+ GDD (base 50F), sufficient for most temperate crops.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop water requirement not recorded. Region is humid continental with reliable growing-season rainfall; irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop frost-free requirement not recorded. Region provides ~180 days.
Chill Hours Met
Not applicable — biennial crop has no winter chill requirement.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 8 hardiness zones (2-9). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
8 documented equipment requirements. Within range adaptable from general row-crop or orchard equipment.
Storage Available
2 documented storage/handling requirements, all achievable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Water requirement not recorded; standard drip or overhead irrigation assumed adequate.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
Labor requirement not recorded. Catalog 75th percentile is 250 hr/ac.
Processing Proximity
1 processor/cooperative buyer on record for this crop, 1 within NY/PA/OH.
Equipment Requirements
planting
Direct seeding rarely succeeds; growers raise 4-6 week transplants in plug trays or peat blocks in a greenhouse. Includes trays, media and bench space.
Sets transplants at about 30-45 cm in rows 75-90 cm apart. Optional at small scale (hand transplanting) but improves speed and uniformity at scale.
General power for bed prep, transplanting, cultivation and spraying. Shared fixed cost across the vegetable operation.
cultivation
Rototiller or bed former for the fine, residue-free seedbed brassicas need, plus a between-row cultivator for mechanical weed control.
irrigation
Crop needs 25-35 mm water per week; steady moisture is critical for sprout formation and to limit tip burn. Sprinkler, big-gun or trickle systems are used.
spraying
Applies insecticides and fungicides for the heavy brassica pest complex. Calibrate at season start and midseason.
harvesting
For once-over mechanical harvest, strips leaves and detaches sprouts from topped stalks. Small growers hand-pick multiple times instead, which is labour intensive.
post_harvest
Rapidly remove field heat, then hold at 0 C and above 95% RH for 3-5 weeks. Keep away from ethylene to prevent yellowing.
Storage Requirements
Fresh cold storage
Temperature
32–34°F
Humidity
92–98%
Max Storage
35 days
Frozen (IQF)
Temperature
0–0°F
Max Storage
365 days
Finance Fit
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $16,800/ac vs catalog median $5,500/ac. Above median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Input cost not recorded; not penalising. Catalog 75th percentile is $5,387/ac.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 0 years. Acceptable payback.
Insurance Available
No federal crop insurance recorded for this crop; risk sits with the grower.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Cannot compute — net return not recorded. Catalog median is $13.16/hr.
Grants/Subsidies
Vegetable crops are eligible under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $1/per lb (fresh-market wholesale, terminal avg) |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $16,800 |
| Annual Operating Cost | —/acre |
| Establishment Cost | —/acre |
| Total Input Cost | —/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | — |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Not available |
Source: USDA AMS terminal market reports (NY, Jul 2026 & Dec 2025); Oregon State University Extension yields; Nova Scotia Vegetable Crops Production Guide (2025)
Risk Fit
Manageable Pest/Disease
11 documented risk factors. Within the range manageable by conventional IPM.
Market Diversified
1 buyer, 6 channels. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
0 years to full production. Low establishment exposure.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 2-9 (8 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a vegetable revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
disease
Soil-borne pathogen causing root swellings that restrict water and nutrient flow, stunting and wilting plants. Spores can survive 10-20 years in soil and spread via soil, equipment and infested manure.
Alternaria brassicae and A. brassicicola cause target-like leaf lesions and sunken decay of sprout buds under wet conditions; seed- and soil-borne.
Produces white fuzzy growth on leaf undersides with purpling then yellowing of leaf tops; favored by cool, wet weather and prolonged leaf wetness.
Soil-borne fungi kill seeds and seedlings and cause wiry, girdled stems that leave surviving plants weak and unproductive.
Seed-borne fungus causing leaf spots and stem cankers at the soil line that can destroy the root system and kill plants.
Bacterial disease causing V-shaped yellow lesions from leaf margins and blackened veins; spread by splashing water it can render the crop unmarketable.
pest
Root-feeding larvae tunnel into roots, deforming them and admitting rots; damage stunts or kills young transplants. Two to three generations per year.
Larvae defoliate plants and bore into sprouts; frass staining alone can make sprouts unmarketable, and diamondback moth infests buds.
Aphids colonize leaf undersides and lodge inside developing sprouts, where they are nearly impossible to wash out at harvest, causing rejection.
Small beetles chew pinholes in leaves and can seriously damage seedlings and transplants during warm, dry weather; larvae feed on roots.
environmental
Physiological disorders from localized calcium deficiency, producing brown dead inner-leaf tissue and internal browning that can taint freezing lots and often cannot be seen externally.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Brussels Sprouts against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
Nearby Buyers
Eden Valley Growers
Eden, NY · 30.0 mi
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Region-neutral agronomy, soil pH (6.0-7.0), cool-season timing, frost tolerance (~20F), days to harvest, physiological/quality response to moisture and heat, and pest/disease pressure from University of Minnesota Extension, 'Growing Brussels sprouts in home gardens' (reviewed 2026) — https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-brussels-sprouts. Hardiness-zone range cross-referenced with land-grant cole-crop guidance.
Economics data year: 2025 · Region: lake_erie View economics source →
52 tracked changes across 9 data categories