Brussels Sprouts

[Timbotide]

My Brussels Sprout seed are up and looking pretty good.
I took Bills advice and went with the variety Bubbles.
They got a little leggy so I planted them deeper and plan on
keeping them in a south facing window until they can
be safely planted outside.

[nicky]

I had a ton of brussels last year & oooh - they were delicious! when you harvest yours try caramelizing them and then add fresh lemon juice & proscuitto in 1 inch strips & bake for 10 minutes. mmmm.... drooling now.

This year I planted Jade Cross seeds on the 17th of April. By coincidence I took a pic this morning & have my camera at work - this is how far along they are now...



It is time to start pulling the lower leaves! I dont do anything special with them (just the usual chicken manure & a bit of compost for brassicas) and they seem to grow very well for me - we have a pretty cool spring & fall up here though!

[Jeannine Anne]

Don`t forget when the top blows it makes agreat veggoe in it`s own right..

There is also a variety that has blown sprouts..Posy I think it is called,(I will check that) I have seeds but didn`t plant any Brussells this year so didn`t get chance to try them.

I grow several types usually ones that mature at different times so there is a steady supply from September through till February.

They don`t like soft ground by the way so stomp around the transplant to compact . Oh and some of them need a stake.

XX Jeannine

[nicky]

Hey Jeannine Anne!
What do you do with the top? It just goes in my composter....
cheers

[Jeannine Anne]

Hi Nicky, when the plant is more or less coming to an end the top looks like a loose leaf cabbage. Pick the top off and clean it as if it was a cabbage and use the leaves as another veggie, the taste is milder than a brussel . They are sold in the UK as Sprout Tops and are quite expensive. I like to use them in stir fries or cooked with a bit of chopped bacon and onion which is the way my husband will eat his cabbage, but you can steam or use them any way you would cabbage or kale. If you look on the net you will find loads of recipes if you need them.

If you really want to be thrifty, you can peel the stems too, it is not easty to do, much easier with broccolli stems but inside after you get past the woody exterior is a soft centre. Try it, I find with the very late maturing ones it doesn`t work as well as with the quicker ones but it is great with the broccolli ones..

XX Jeannine

PS. The name of the sprout which has the blown buttons is Petit Posy, it is a genuine cross between Kale and Brussel sprouts , it grows just like a brussel but you pick what look like little flowery shapes which are said to be sweeter than brussells.

I have photographs but don't know how to put them on

[Timbotide]

My sprouts are still inside my house
Near a south facing window.
We are having temps in the mid 90's
this week and I'm wondering if it would be too hot to set them outside under my back porch so they can get
Even More indirect sunlight.



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- Tim

[Jeannine Anne]

Tim, I have never grown sprouts in hot weather so I can't really help you.I know they don't like being in post very long.

XX Jeannine

[clkeiper]

Mischka, Those red b sprouts are BEAUTIFUL. I was looking through here on growing information as this is the first year I have grown b sprouts and I am not having the best of results...yet. Now I am trying the red ones for next year.

[clkeiper]

I order my seeds through Stokes commercial catalog and they state that to get them to mature...cut all the bottom leaves off and pinch out the top of the plant in mid Sept. for the northern growing zone. I just read this as I was looking through my new seed catalog getting my new seed order together. hmmmm, wish I would have noticed or remembered if I did read this, before November.

[b54red]

Tim did you ever get your sprouts out in the garden? Mine have only been out a couple of weeks but they are nearly a food tall now and seem to be doing good.

Bill

[Timbotide]

Bill,

Several of My plants have been out over a month and are doing good.
I planted two batches and some are taller than others.
Looks like I will be covering them up a lot this winter to keep the
freezing weather from getting them.
About How long does it take the variety "Bubbles" to produce good sized sprouts?

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by Mischka

Decided to try growing four red varieties this season: Falstaff, Rubine, Red Delicious and Red Bull.

How did they turn out? Did you have a favorite?

I want to grow a red variety and Falstaff seems to be the most widely available one.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Timbotide

Bill,

Several of My plants have been out over a month and are doing good.
I planted two batches and some are taller than others.
Looks like I will be covering them up a lot this winter to keep the
freezing weather from getting them.
About How long does it take the variety "Bubbles" to produce good sized sprouts?

I don't know. They usually start producing good sprouts when they are a bit over 2 feet tall in early spring and then quickly make a lot more as the temperatures start to rise. When the temperatures start getting into the upper 70s and 80s on a regular basis I pinch out the center growth and pull off many of the lower leaves to force them to produce sprouts faster. Bubbles usually is at peak production when they get about 3 feet tall but they can get a bit taller if you have a long cool spring. They produce smaller sprouts than some of the varieties I have grown and to me the best ones are the small ones. When the weather gets too hot I will pull off all of the little bitty ones before they can open up in the heat.

[b54red]

Tim how are your sprouts looking now? Mine are now getting fairly large and I need to get out there and put a small stake beside them and tie them up so they don't get blown over too much. I tried that last year and it really helped and I think the ones I tied up did much better than the ones I let fall over in the wind. We have been having a lot of wind this year so I am going to try it again.

[Timbotide]

Bill, Mine are growing fairly slow due in part to the area I planted them in.
Some of them are in an area that does not get lots of sun. I just went out and gave them a big dose of miracle grow hoping to give them a boost. My Broccoli has done well for me and I am planning to set out another crop soon.


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