Good enough to eat... Brussels sprouts

Hannah Stephenson consigns the image of soggy sprouts to the past and says these cancer-busting veggies are very easy to grow

THE old image of overcooked sprouts with Christmas dinner has long since been usurped by their healthy-eating, cancer-busting properties and delicious flavour when cooked al dente with crispy lardons or chestnuts.

They’re also really easy to grow. Sow the seeds indoors in February or March for early types and in an outdoor seedbed in April for later cropping varieties.

The seedlings need to be transplanted into very firm soil in holes made with a dibber, then firmed in with your heel. Space them 60cm (2ft) apart in small gardens, or slightly further apart on larger plots and water them in well.

Support the plants with stakes, water them in dry spells and feed them with general purpose fertiliser in early August. You can start picking them when they are large enough to use and if you want a big batch over Christmas, pull up a whole plant. Good varieties include ‘Trafalgar’ and ‘Falstaff’.