Story: Autumn Brassicas
Episode: Episode 8
Presenter: Bonnie-Marie Hibbs
Air Date: 16th April 2022

Bonnie goes through the Brassicas family origin and when it is important to plant.

• Brassica family includes cauliflowers, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale and many more.
• Brassicas are very time sensitive crops and you don’t want to be planting them too late where they lose the opportunity to establish, but on the other hand you don’t want to plant them too early at the risk of the plants bolting.
• anytime from April onwards is the ideal time to plant out your seedling whereas seeds should have been sown about 8 to 10 weeks ago.
• If it is your first time growing a brassica starting from a seedling can be a lot easier, and from this stage it should be 10-12 weeks before you will harvesting
• Early on in the season keep a watchful eye on your plants as the white cabbage month tends to find these plants quite attractive and will leave little eggs, often of a yellow color, on the bottom side of the leaf which hatches to chucky little green caterpillars, that will be a delighted new home.
• When you see the eggs, you can simply wipe them off and the same goes for the caterpillars. Otherwise there are organic pesticides which will do the job too.
• Once you have all your brassicas planted, don’t forget to mulch them. Even though the weather is cooling, having a nice mulch layer can help lock in some warmth in the soil, which then helps the roots stay nice and cozy, which means they are still growing even into the colder months.