Brussels sprouts question
Due to a late start with end of season sale nursery transplants it looks like my plants are only going to be about half grown by the time snow hits. Does anybody know what will happen in the spring? Will the winter damaged plants start where they left off and put out sprouts in the late spring?. Will they grow longer before putting on sprouts (late summer/fall? or will they bolt?
I let my Brussels Sprouts overwinter last year.
I planted mine around late September. The plants grew at a steady rate until late December. I got a few sprouts in December before we got temperatures below 50F daily and lows in the low 20s. Throughout the winter, the plants grew slowly, mostly on days with temperatures 50 and above with little to no growth when the high temperatures were below 50. Our low temperature got down to 13F and the plants were fine with not protection. They also lived through quite a few hard freezes. I thought they were going to die a few times, but they lived.
In February, the plants began to grow rapidly and I got a good harvest of sprouts.
In March, the plants began grow even faster, but the sprouts became just open tufts of leaves and the growing point of the plants began to open up and I could see a small cluster of flowers growing, similar to a small broccoli. The plants kept growing fast and where a sprout would have been, a whole flowering stalk came out and grew to 5 feet tall. I also noticed the leaf structure of each plant changed. Instead of the leaves being short and round, they became longer, resembling broccoli leaf shape.
The flowers opened in March and there was a mass of yellow flowers all over. The lower leaves began dying. After the seeds set, the plants became very heavy and a thunderstorm blew over some of the plants; they did not snap though. The seeds took a long time to mature and each plant gave around 10,000 seeds.
I doubt the plants would die in your location, especially if they are snow covered when the really cold weather arrives. Some of mine had a few leaves with freeze damage, but most were fine.
I have pictures of the plants if you would like to see them.
Sorry for the long post. I find the Brassicas to be very interesting plants.
I planted mine around late September. The plants grew at a steady rate until late December. I got a few sprouts in December before we got temperatures below 50F daily and lows in the low 20s. Throughout the winter, the plants grew slowly, mostly on days with temperatures 50 and above with little to no growth when the high temperatures were below 50. Our low temperature got down to 13F and the plants were fine with not protection. They also lived through quite a few hard freezes. I thought they were going to die a few times, but they lived.
In February, the plants began to grow rapidly and I got a good harvest of sprouts.
In March, the plants began grow even faster, but the sprouts became just open tufts of leaves and the growing point of the plants began to open up and I could see a small cluster of flowers growing, similar to a small broccoli. The plants kept growing fast and where a sprout would have been, a whole flowering stalk came out and grew to 5 feet tall. I also noticed the leaf structure of each plant changed. Instead of the leaves being short and round, they became longer, resembling broccoli leaf shape.
The flowers opened in March and there was a mass of yellow flowers all over. The lower leaves began dying. After the seeds set, the plants became very heavy and a thunderstorm blew over some of the plants; they did not snap though. The seeds took a long time to mature and each plant gave around 10,000 seeds.
I doubt the plants would die in your location, especially if they are snow covered when the really cold weather arrives. Some of mine had a few leaves with freeze damage, but most were fine.
I have pictures of the plants if you would like to see them.
Sorry for the long post. I find the Brassicas to be very interesting plants.
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applestar
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FWIW -- Mine was about a foot tall when it got too cold for them. I had them in a flimsy PCV and plastic sheeting hoop house, which collapsed under last winter's ridiculously heavy snow that accumulated to above the 28"H rabbit fence.
The BS's spent the winter that way, which most likely protected them from winter injury -- at least more so than in the usual single and minus digits every night for a whole week with NO snow cover kind of weather we normally have.
In the spring, it took a long time for the snow to melt enough for me to dig out the collapsed and frozen to the ground plastic sheeting. I had fully expected the BS's to have been crushed into non-existence, but there they were, among the folds of the plastic. Now here, I might have made a mistake, because I put the plastic back over the hoops.
In any case, the BS's resumed growing, which was all to the good, but then it got over hot and the sprouts that had formed to about thumbnail size bolted into little flower shoots.
That's my story.
The BS's spent the winter that way, which most likely protected them from winter injury -- at least more so than in the usual single and minus digits every night for a whole week with NO snow cover kind of weather we normally have.
In the spring, it took a long time for the snow to melt enough for me to dig out the collapsed and frozen to the ground plastic sheeting. I had fully expected the BS's to have been crushed into non-existence, but there they were, among the folds of the plastic. Now here, I might have made a mistake, because I put the plastic back over the hoops.
In any case, the BS's resumed growing, which was all to the good, but then it got over hot and the sprouts that had formed to about thumbnail size bolted into little flower shoots.
That's my story.
Here are some pictures of my Brussels sprouts plants from last season:
This was taken on January 17, 2010. Note the size of the plants.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/DSCF2582.jpg[/img]
This picture was on March 20. The plants were still producing closed sprouts but were showing signs of flowering.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/plants002.jpg[/img]
This picture is also from March 20. Note the change is leaf shape and the flower buds are visible.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/plants009.jpg[/img]
This was taken on April 21, 2010. The flowering process was ending and the seeds were beginning to set.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/DSCF2740.jpg[/img]
Finally, this picture was taken on May 3, 2010. A thunderstorm blew most of the plants over; the one left standing was nearly 5.5 feet tall. All of them have set seeds.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/036.jpg[/img]
This was taken on January 17, 2010. Note the size of the plants.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/DSCF2582.jpg[/img]
This picture was on March 20. The plants were still producing closed sprouts but were showing signs of flowering.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/plants002.jpg[/img]
This picture is also from March 20. Note the change is leaf shape and the flower buds are visible.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/plants009.jpg[/img]
This was taken on April 21, 2010. The flowering process was ending and the seeds were beginning to set.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/DSCF2740.jpg[/img]
Finally, this picture was taken on May 3, 2010. A thunderstorm blew most of the plants over; the one left standing was nearly 5.5 feet tall. All of them have set seeds.
[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/Brassica%20oleracea%20plants%20flowering/036.jpg[/img]
My 6 y old has taken a liking to brussel sprouts hehehe. this thread has made me think that perhaps we should try growing some. but when do I plant them? can I start them indoors and then put them in larger pots in my greenhouse in march or something? and then put them outside once the ground thaws? or what do I do. I have no clue really about what they even like!
With your colder climate I would think they would have had to been in the ground a couple months ago before freezing weather can get to them. I put mine in three weeks ago but I live in zone 9 in south Louisiana and I'm now getting some small sprouts along the stalk. They can take some frost but not likely will survive the cold you will soon experience. They will probably do well in the early spring since your summers don't get near as hot or humid as mine here in New Orleans.sheeshshe wrote:when do I plant them? can I start them indoors and then put them in larger pots in my greenhouse in march or something? and then put them outside once the ground thaws? or what do I do. I have no clue really about what they even like!
Good to see your 6 yr. old likes them. From personal experience, I find if you grow it and the kids are involved, even a little, they are more prone to try the vegetables you produce.
I think Brussels sprouts will work in the spring for you since your spring is cooler for a longer time than ours in the South and your summer is quite cool.
I believe a fall crop would still be the best though since the plants would be maturing when the temperatures are cooling instead of warming. A mid-June transplant planting date sounds ideal to me. This way your plants would mature around the beginning of October. The mature plants tolerate hard freezes well also.
Another thing, be sure to use hybrid seed if you grow them from seed. I've tried open pollinated types and they didn't perform well at all, and the hybrids were excellent.
I believe a fall crop would still be the best though since the plants would be maturing when the temperatures are cooling instead of warming. A mid-June transplant planting date sounds ideal to me. This way your plants would mature around the beginning of October. The mature plants tolerate hard freezes well also.
Another thing, be sure to use hybrid seed if you grow them from seed. I've tried open pollinated types and they didn't perform well at all, and the hybrids were excellent.
sheeshshe,
Up north Brussel's sprouts can be planted anywhere from spring to early-mid summer. The flavor of the sprouts gets better after a frost hits, and they will keep growing even with freezing nights. That is the reason people use them for a fall crop, but I think that the spring planted ones are still around and producing.
The cabbage worms can tolerate frozen nights too.
Up north Brussel's sprouts can be planted anywhere from spring to early-mid summer. The flavor of the sprouts gets better after a frost hits, and they will keep growing even with freezing nights. That is the reason people use them for a fall crop, but I think that the spring planted ones are still around and producing.
The cabbage worms can tolerate frozen nights too.