You either love them or hate them, but what would Christmas dinner be like without them? The old varieties have the best flavour, but open quickly and lose their button-like tightness, whereas the modern F1 varieties have the ability to hold the small tight buttons for a long time on the stem. Brussels sprouts are part of the brassica family. They are biennial plants, but they are more commonly grown as annuals instead. Sow the seeds from March to April in trays or modules under glass at 13°C. Later sowings can be made outdoors into a seed bed at 2cm deep. Transplant firmly into their final planting positions, in rows with 60cm between plants, and 90cm between each row. Depending on the variety, Brussels sprouts can be harvested from the start of September onwards. Harvest the bottom sprouts first and work upwards.