I stuck one of our baby brussels sprouts in the cold frame last fall, figuring it would produce for us later into the winter than the others. But instead, shade (I assume) stunted the youngster and it sat with four or five true leaves for months. I eventually wrote it off as a dud.

Imagine my surprise when spring arrived...and the dud started to grow! It's now looking like we might get May brussels sprouts from this little overwinterer --- the plant seems not to have matured enough in the fall to prompt it to flower this spring like you might have expected.

"Do that times ten next year," begged my brussels-sprout-loving husband.