Are Brussels sprout seedlings frost hardy?

[Lamboluke]

I have just sown some Evesham special Brussels sprouts and once they have germinated I intend on putting the tray outside.
I did think they were frost hardy but the packet says to avoid frost before planting out.
I have an unheated greenhouse so I'm guessing I could still get a frost inside that, do I need to fleece?

Thanks

[Thelma Sanders]

They should be ok in the cold greenhouse.

[Bigmallly]

You could always play safe & throw.............. sorry............. carefully place some fleece over the seedlings if frost is forecast..........

[Spunky]

This always confuses me is a frost hardy plant not a frost hardy seedling?

[Bigmallly]

Would you be more frost hardy than a baby?.....................

[Spunky]

It's the same as saying you get a bit fragile as you get older and could do with a bit more heat
If anyone does know it would be interesting

[Alison]

It's the same as saying you get a bit fragile as you get older and could do with a bit more heat
If anyone does know it would be interesting

If anybody knows what? If you mean are seedlings of frost hardy plants OK to put out in all elements then clearly they are more delicate to both cold, rain and wind. They don't need much protection but do want more care than the much sturdier adult plant. I'll be sowing my sprouts in my cold conservatory in a couple of weeks. When they're ready to prick out they'll go in the unheated greenhouse but if would be too cold for them to germinate there originally.

[Spunky]

are they though Alison don't take this the wrong way but is it fact or what you think? I could put sow garlic, broad beans and certain lettuce pretty much any time of the year what's the difference between those and things like kale cabbage etc this is what I'm trying to understand

[Martin H]

Left to their own devices, brassica seeds wouldn't germinate naturally until much later in the season, when the soil is warmer and any frosts are short-lived. The plants would then have all summer to get ready for the cold of the following winter.

We mess them about by forcing the seeds out of dormancy in the middle of winter. If we want them to thrive we have to follow through and grow them on in the milder conditions they deserve to expect until the season catches up and we can harden them off to survive in the real world.

I'll be sowing mine in the propagator in a couple of weeks and then keeping them in the cold greenhouse until at least the middle of April. Same as Alison, really.

[Spunky]

Thanks Martin that makes a lot of sense but it can get still get cold in a cold frame, what would be handy would be if they put a minimum temp on seed packets instead of how hardy they are!

[veggiechicken]

are they though Alison don't take this the wrong way but is it fact or what you think? I could put sow garlic, broad beans and certain lettuce pretty much any time of the year what's the difference between those and things like kale cabbage etc this is what I'm trying to understand

But you couldn't sow/plant out tomatoes, courgettes and runner beans all year round and I'm sure (almost) that you would accept that Everything has its own requirements and one works with those needs or provides them artificially.

[Spunky]

I know veggie I mean the hardy plants like cabbage kales broccoli etc and how hardy they are as seedlings

[21up]

Mine have been in cold g house 2 weeks about 40 mm high
same last year no probs,
including cab/coll/calabrese all about same size in newspaper tubes.
newspaper is warm
cheers Peter

[Alison]

are they though Alison don't take this the wrong way but is it fact or what you think? I could put sow garlic, broad beans and certain lettuce pretty much any time of the year what's the difference between those and things like kale cabbage etc this is what I'm trying to understand

If I sowed broadbeans outside tomorrow they wouldn't germinate until it warmed a bit, neither would lettuce etc so they wouldn't be withstanding the low temps. Autumn sown ones have gradually got accustomed to lower temps.

[Spunky]

Oh right so they won't die they just won't germinate e.g if I sowed some cabbage seedlings they won't die when they come up they will just take longer