OK.. I planted brussel sprouts
It looks like bugs (or something) got on them.. and mangled the leaves..
SO.. I have small round circles growing everywhere a stem (leaf) grows out off of the stalk...
So...I am assuming these are the brussel sprouts
They have been there about two weeks and not growing as far as I can tell.
SO.. what should I do... did the bugs do to much damage to the leaves to help feed the sprouts (I have no clue how these things grow)... and about 1/2 of all the leaves are gone.
I have been daily and think I got rid of the bugs...
Should I fertilize them to see if they start growing, keep them well watered, or what. SO far IMO I think I am keeping the garden well moistened.
I know I got them out too late.. so maybe they just got so far... and then thats it.
Any help or advise is appreciated.
I guess part of the problem is I have no clue what they should look like when they are young, as they grow, or what they look like when mature.
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pickupguy07
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- Location: GA
Brussel Sprouts question
Last edited by pickupguy07 on Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The spouts on the plant do seem to slow down as they get older; the hybrids are designed to mature many sprouts at once.
If they are watered well, the plants should still be producing new leaves. Mine have slowed down due to the heat, but they are still growing. You can try fertilizing them.
If too many leaves are damaged and the plants aren't growing well, you can start more seeds around July 1 and plant them out around August 1 if you are transplanting. Try to plant plants as early as possible around August 1; if you wait too long, they won't mature before the cold of winter arrives. If you do wait too long and still plant them; you will get a harvest, but not until February and March before they flower (after winter -- they are biennials).
Here area few pictures of my plants this spring; maybe they can help you determine what stage yours are in.
If you are having a problem with caterpillars/loopers try spraying Bt (dipel, thuricide) on them. Spray in the evening or morning. I usually have lots of caterpillars by now, but I've only seen a few this year. Hail did more damage to mine than caterpillars.
The first picture was taken on May 1. The plants have been in the ground for about 2 to 2.5 months. I started the plants from seed around January 15 and planted them in the ground around February 15. You can see the sprouts starting to form on these.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_7868-Copy.jpg[/img]
This next photo was also taken on May 1. It is the view from above of the same plant in the first photo.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_7880-Copy.jpg[/img]
The next photo was taken on May 17. The sprouts have developed more.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_7897.jpg[/img]
The last photo was taken around the beginning of June, just before I harvested these sprouts. The sprouts mature from the bottom up, so the largest sprouts will be on the bottom and they will get smaller the higher up the plant.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_8080.jpg[/img]
If they are watered well, the plants should still be producing new leaves. Mine have slowed down due to the heat, but they are still growing. You can try fertilizing them.
If too many leaves are damaged and the plants aren't growing well, you can start more seeds around July 1 and plant them out around August 1 if you are transplanting. Try to plant plants as early as possible around August 1; if you wait too long, they won't mature before the cold of winter arrives. If you do wait too long and still plant them; you will get a harvest, but not until February and March before they flower (after winter -- they are biennials).
Here area few pictures of my plants this spring; maybe they can help you determine what stage yours are in.
If you are having a problem with caterpillars/loopers try spraying Bt (dipel, thuricide) on them. Spray in the evening or morning. I usually have lots of caterpillars by now, but I've only seen a few this year. Hail did more damage to mine than caterpillars.
The first picture was taken on May 1. The plants have been in the ground for about 2 to 2.5 months. I started the plants from seed around January 15 and planted them in the ground around February 15. You can see the sprouts starting to form on these.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_7868-Copy.jpg[/img]
This next photo was also taken on May 1. It is the view from above of the same plant in the first photo.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_7880-Copy.jpg[/img]
The next photo was taken on May 17. The sprouts have developed more.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_7897.jpg[/img]
The last photo was taken around the beginning of June, just before I harvested these sprouts. The sprouts mature from the bottom up, so the largest sprouts will be on the bottom and they will get smaller the higher up the plant.[img]https://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/TWC015/IMG_8080.jpg[/img]
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pickupguy07
- Senior Member
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:06 pm
- Location: GA
I harvest mine between the size of a quarter and fifty cent piece. I find if I let them on much longer than that they tend to open a bit and aren't as compact.pickupguy07 wrote:hey cool.. thanks for the pics..
Mine look like the third photo..
How do you know when ther should be harvested.. (I suppose their size -- what is the right size)
thanks
CT
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pickupguy07
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- Posts: 253
- Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:06 pm
- Location: GA
This is what I did with the smallest of the sprouts I had last fall. I pickled them in a good Bread & Butter pickling brine and they are fantastic that way. If it looks like the heat will get your plants, that is an option.pickupguy07 wrote:well maybe I will get something yet..
Guess I'll wait a while.. I think I saw somewhere that maturing comes about 110 days. These are pretty far from that yet.
Hope the heat don't get them before time to harvest
Ok, here's a question! I planted brussel sprouts last year and didn't really get much out of them. The sprouts all stayed tiny. This year I went to look at what I should do with my garden and found new sprouts (I didn't realize until I looked it up that they were bienial(?)). I was happy to have a 2nd chance. Then a while went by before I saw them again (I get spacey sometimes) and I was cleaning up from a small tornado, when I realized those stalks no longer had sprouts, but were growing shoots with flowers that had what looked like green beans. I'm very confused about this, but perfectly happy to have beans. Any idea what happened?
Well, you already figured it out - they are biennials and the pods you see are the pods (which aren't true pods) from Brussels Sprouts flowers. They lived through the winter and are now flowering. You don't have "beans." Eventually the pods will turn brown and burst open from wind/touching them and you'll have Brussels Sprouts seedlings everywhere if you don't save the seeds.
So, I won't get anymore brussel sprouts this year then? Also, if I pick them and take the seeds I can replant the seeds just as they are next year and get more? In case you hadn't guessed, I'm new to this gardening thing. LOL Do I need to wait for them to turn brown before taking the seeds? Any information you can give me will help. Thanks