I'm in the start and grow in the fall camp as I have found that is what works best for me. They need a couple of fall frosts for best flavor and will do well here outdoors until early Dec. Spring planted crops were always much more prone to pest and disease problems for me and keeping them going until frost proved a real challenge. But the flavor of pre-freeze harvest was harsh and bitter so I had to try to baby them thru the heat of summer and early fall and they were pretty sorry looking by then.

So maybe you need to try some at both times to determine which ones you prefer.

Dave

I planted mine in summer last year and was happy with the result. The plants are actually still alive!

If you want to try for a Spring harvest I would suggest starting them indoors 4-6 weeks before planting out, which IMHO is as soon as the ground can be worked.

Glad you asked this question, I ran into the same information as you came across. I am starting purple brussel sprout seeds. I just started them this past Sunday. I am in zone 7 and figured that I will start them now and start another batch in July. I get what digdirt is saying with bugs and such and plants looking bad during the heat of the summer. I have heard that a frost or two does them well when it comes to flavor. I am including a benificial bug garden next to mine and creating bug boxes for prediator wasps and ladybugs. I am hoping that improves the health of my garden. This is my first year growing a garden, I usually only grow hot peppers in containers.

The ones I grew last year were Hestia. And definitely needed to spray with bt. Anything I plant for Fall harvest is going to be early, to deal with the lack of sun. IIRC I planted them out around August 1st, there was a major heat wave and they sulked for a while but recovered and grew well.

My sister-in-law planted Spring Brussels Sprouts and had sprouts all season long.

I start my brussel sprouts as all cold crops indoors in the middle of February for planting in April. Any cole crop can be attacked by cabbage worm. White butterfly with black dot on wings. If the plants are kept healthy they can withstand this pest.

The butterfly lays it's eggs on the underside of leaves. Smear the eggs with your finger to destroy them. Zone 6

Thanks for all the advice folks.. no wonder why I'm getting confused, between two whole separate growings and various dates for that. Makes more sense now.

I think I might try a bit of a few advice here and do a spring batch and a winter batch. I'm dedicating a whole section of my garden to doing this :) I really want to grow a big batch of them, for pickling. They are just too darn expensive around here to find in the amounts I need for pickling.

Is there anything I should avoid growing in the same area? I was thinking about using my "off space" in the area that will await fall crops with a bit of early spinach or Chinese cabbage, or maybe some spring peas.

They need a lot of nitrogen, I would avoid planting any greens in the same area, IMO peas would be a good choice as they should fix nitrogen to the soil for the Brussels sprouts, if enough time is given for the roots to break down in the soil a bit before planting the sprouts, and they should fizzle out in the heat just in time. JMO. In any case they will love lots of rich compost.