Far superior to store-bought sprouts that sit in cold storage, homegrown Long Island Improved sprouts provide exceptional texture, natural sweetness, and an extended cold-weather harvest window.

• Sweet, Nutty, Frost-Kissed Flavor: Modern store cultivars were often bred for uniform mechanical harvesting rather than flavor. Long Island Improved retains the traditional rich, nutty brassica profile that sweetens significantly as autumn temperatures drop and starches turn to natural sugars.
• Abundant, Staggered Harvests: Compact plants stand 20 to 24 inches tall and yield 50 to 100 tight, 1- to 1.5-inch round sprouts packed vertically along the central stalk. Sprouts mature from the bottom upward, allowing for weeks of fresh, pick-as-you-go harvesting.
• Architectural Fall Garden Feature: With its stout central spire, broad umbrella canopy, and spiraling clusters of tiny heads, this brassica lends structural drama and deep green beauty to late-season raised beds and vegetable plots.
• Culinary Versatility: Exceptional when halved and roasted at high heat with olive oil until caramelized and crisp, shredded raw into winter slaws, braised in bacon dripping and cider, or sautéed with garlic and lemon.

"Long Island Improved is the ultimate reward for patience in the kitchen garden. While other vegetables surrender to the first crisp weeks of autumn, this stout heirloom hits its stride when frost hits the ground. Stepping into a chilly November garden to snap sweet, marble-sized sprouts right off the stalk to roast with brown butter is one of the greatest culinary triumphs of the cool season."

• Sowing & Timing: For best results, grow as a fall crop. Start seeds indoors 12 to 14 weeks before your first expected fall frost (typically late spring to midsummer), planting 1/4 inch deep. Transplant outdoors 4 to 6 weeks later to ensure the harvest matures in cool weather.
• Spacing: Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows spaced 30 to 36 inches apart. Adequate airflow and sun exposure are essential to allow lower sprouts to develop evenly along the stem.
• Watering & Fertility: Brussels sprouts are heavy feeders requiring steady moisture and nutrient-rich soil. Side-dress with balanced organic compost or a high-nitrogen organic fertilizer midway through their long growth cycle.
• Harvesting & Pruning: Begin picking bottom sprouts when they are firm and reach 1 to 1.5 inches across, twisting or snapping them downward off the stalk. To encourage remaining top sprouts to plump up simultaneously before hard freezes, pinch off the growing tip (terminal bud) at the top of the plant 3 to 4 weeks before the final harvest.