Are Brussels sprout seedlings frost hardy?

[veggiechicken]

Personally, I wouldn't think of sowing anything outside at the moment. Not only is it still cold, but while the seeds sit there "waiting", they may well be rotting in the cold, wet soil.

[kathyd]

I have some autumn sown Superaguadulce broadies, in a polytunnel, in NW France. Despite being super hardy, some leaves (and even a couple of stems) turned black during a sudden very cold snap, even under cover. So whatever we think 'should' be the case, I now fleece all my 'hardy; pea and bean seedlings every night while there;s still a risk of frost - why take chances when you don't need to?

[Lamboluke]

Nice to hear of successes and I can't wait to see them germinate inside and then I'll pop them into the greenhouse

[Kristen]

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

They might rot (particularly in the case of a seed like Broad Beans; Brassica seeds are hard like ball bearings! so less likely to rot), but I wouldn't sow direct, outside, until the idea time, temperaturewise.

If you sow Brassicas inside, to get them to germinate, and then put them outside its asking a lot for them to cope with cold temperatures as a tiny seedling - as that is not how they grow in nature.

Although they might get cold temperatures later in the Spring, they will also get hotter days, an longer days, so easier for them to recover than trying to grow early in the year with shorter days / more that are overcast / nights that longer and they colder for more hours on a frosty night.