Brussel Sprouts....dun dun DUN

Sun May 13, 2012 1:16 am

I know these are often considered a "thing I can't grow" by many on here. I LOVE brussel sprouts. Last year I planted them around April or May with the rest of my garden. They grew well enough and I took off the bottom leaves as they grew the little sprouts. But then about halfway through the summer they seem to have stunted. I think this is because it was too hot for them. I gave up on them and pretended they didn't exist for the rest of the summer and into the fall. I noticed that in the fall though I started to get some REALLY nice sprout son them even though the lower ones were toast.

So I am thinking of starting these around June and putting them out in late July or maybe starting them out later and putting them out in September. Thoughts?

Sun May 13, 2012 12:14 pm

I don't grow brussels sprouts, but I think they usually say put them out early to mid-summer. Harvest after they have been through some frosts. I think Sept would be to late because they take at least three months to start making heads, from when you plant them out.

Sun May 13, 2012 2:09 pm

Yeah I think I might put them out mid-summer...maybe put them out in July. Judging from what I had last year adn they started to really produce in October....it might be better to put them out later than I did.

Sun May 13, 2012 9:12 pm

i went to a nursery 2 days ago and bought a few plants to put in my garden (explained in another post of mine)..

anyways, 1 of the 6 packs i bought was brussels sprouts.. i put them out in the garden and they are doing just fine.. i never grew them before but i expect to harvest (don't know when), but with no issues this year.

all i can say is use compost tea!

Wed May 16, 2012 9:46 pm

Believe it or not, i've always considered Brussels Sprouts one of the things i can't grow, either! The first 2 years I put them in the ground june 1, but they never did anything. They started to grow very tiny sprouts, but winter than came and that was the end of that! The next year they go to seed. I'd recommend putting them in the ground when you can, to give them some cooler growing temps (which i've noticed they seem to like)

This year, I started them from seed this and put them in the ground mid-march. So far theyre doing fantastic- the plants are getting huge! I'm hopeful that i'll actually get some to grow this year

Thu May 17, 2012 11:26 pm

That's good to know! I will have to try that next year. I'm definitely going to try starting these later.

Fri May 18, 2012 12:51 am

I'm trying two different strategies this year.

(1) I sowed the seeds directly in the ground along with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kohlrabi back in March. They took longer than the other cole crops to germinate, but are growing well right now -- some about 6-8"with 3~4 pairs of true leaves. I succession planted two weeks later and those have 2~3 pairs of true leaves and are about 4" tall.

(2) I started seeds in a 6pack cell last week -- they have sprouted and have seed leaves. I'm growing them outside on a bench under a tree rather than inside so they have the advantage of cooler night temps. They are intended to be planted mid-June.

In addition, some of them are growing under a insect barrier tunnel, but all of them are variety called Falstaff -- a red/purple variety that I'm hoping will not be as attractive to cabbage whites and cabbage moths. For me fall cole crops have always been more about how to keep the bugs away than how to get them to grow. Here, Harlequin and Stink bugs wreak havoc in the summer along with the butterfly and moth caterpillars.

Fri May 18, 2012 1:41 am

I think my sprouts had slugs or something. I never saw any bugs but the sprouts themselves got a little holey (tiny holes). The sprouts that came in later in the season were much better. My leaves never got holes I don't think. I can't remember. I do remember the groundhog eating them though!

Sat May 19, 2012 2:15 am

I looked at them this afternoon and they were at least a foot tall.... :shock:

Sat May 19, 2012 12:27 pm

applestar wrote:I looked at them this afternoon and they were at least a foot tall....

Mine grew up to 3ft tall, but I didn't have decent sprouts until October.

Sat May 19, 2012 2:21 pm

I believe that's what you want -- to harvest them just after a touch of frost.

It's a little trickier for us to harvest in spring mostly because our typical winters are cold (down to negative single digits here, maybe even lower in your garden) and dry with infrequent snowfall. I think it can be done if planted to grow to just before budding, then overwintering with good protection. The year we had the 3' snowfall (great insulation) and this past mild winter -- 20's or Teens at coldest -- the B. sprouts overwintered very nicely.

This year, we're actualy getting a longer period of cooler spring weather instead of jumping right into summer, even if we had a couple of "heat waves" starting in March.

Sun May 20, 2012 6:23 pm

i planted a 6 pack that i bought at a nursery.. so far so good.. i've been adding compost tea to them.