Brussel Sprouts in the deep south

[b54red]

I started my Brussels sprouts today though it is already getting late. I prefer to start them no later than the second week of August but it has been too hot even in my air conditioned greenhouse due to the baking days we are still having. They are really slow growing and can not be put out in our early fall heat so they need to remain in the air conditioned greenhouse til it really starts to cool down good which can be as late as early November. Last year I had the same problem with too much heat and they all died in the greenhouse due to a heat wave after they sprouted but were still very small. If the day is hot and sunny enough my greenhouse can get well into the 90s even with the air conditioner running full blast.

They will grow well down here through most of the winter and really take off just before the spring warm up. The trouble is you need a long winter to get the plants big enough to produce much in the very short spring season down here. They can usually withstand or freezes but I build a temporary hoop house which can be covered quickly if some really cold weather is due but can also be uncovered as soon as the hard freeze is over. They need a lot of fertilizer during the growing season so I feed them Urban Farms Vegetable or TTF every week until they start making in the spring. Hopefully we will have a fairly long and mild winter so all my fall crops can do well and the Brussels sprouts can do great because I didn't get any last year even though it was a bumper year for broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce and cauliflower.

Bill

[b54red]

Looks like I am getting some germination so now the problem will be keeping them healthy until plant out weather arrives. Then all I have to worry about are squirrels and cabbage worms.

Bill

[meandtk]

Bill,
How far south are you in AL?
I'm near coastal MS.
I assume our growing conditions are very similar.
Is it too late for me to start some from seed?
Jason

[carolyn137]

Bill, we in the nothern climes know that it's very important for the B sprouts to be hit by a killing frost since that's what makes the starches turn to sugar and sweetens them up.

They would be almost the last I would take from my fields, except for potatoes,after being frozen a couple of times,then take a hacksaw and cut them down and put them on a wheel barrow to take to one of the open sheds for protection.

Whenever my mother wanted some,we were sprut eaters as her Swedish relatives were and are, snap them off and cook them.

I've never understood why folks in the south grew them,just as we in the northern climes don't grow collards,etc.

Carolyn

[b54red]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Bill, we in the nothern climes know that it's very important for the B sprouts to be hit by a killing frost since that's what makes the starches turn to sugar and sweetens them up.

They would be almost the last I would take from my fields, except for potatoes,after being frozen a couple of times,then take a hacksaw and cut them down and put them on a wheel barrow to take to one of the open sheds for protection.

Whenever my mother wanted some,we were sprut eaters as her Swedish relatives were and are, snap them off and cook them.

I've never understood why folks in the south grew them,just as we in the northern climes don't grow collards,etc.

Carolyn

I have loved them since I was a little kid so I guess I'm weird. I tried all kind of tricks to grow them down here but setting them out in the fall and letting them overwinter was the only way to produce a decent crop. With experience I found that the trick was to get them out as early as the weather permitted so they would have longer to grow before hard cold set in. Finally found that the only way to get plants ready soon enough was to start seed in August and since then I have done really well with BS. I have had them severely damaged when the temps got into the lower teens so now I have a temporary hoop set up so I can cover them if it is forecast to get below 25 or so. I have sometimes had them standing over 4 feet tall at the end of the season a few times but they usually are around 3 ft if I am successful. By the way I'm not a collard fan.

Bill

[b54red]

Jason you should have time if you get started right now. I live about 90 miles above the coast so we probably have nearly identical conditions for growing. If you have a squirrel problem let me warn you they love baby Brussels sprout plants and will eat them up when you set them out. They got all my plants last year so this year I'm going to do some culling.

Bill

[meandtk]

Thanks, Bill.
I may try to start some within the next week.

That was one of the things I enjoyed most about stopping at little family run produce stands between the finger lakes in New York state. They would harvest brussel sprouts by cutting the plants off near ground level and sell the harvested plants with the sprouts still attached. There are a lot of crops grown in the cooler (longer winter) areas of this country which I don't even attempt to grow in the south. I wish I could, but some things just don't work for me.

I seem to remember a farmer telling me you can get more than one harvest of sprouts from Brussels Sprouts if you don't cut the plant down. I have no idea if that is accurate.

Ted

[b54red]

Originally Posted by tedln

That was one of the things I enjoyed most about stopping at little family run produce stands between the finger lakes in New York state. They would harvest brussel sprouts by cutting the plants off near ground level and sell the harvested plants with the sprouts still attached. There are a lot of crops grown in the cooler (longer winter) areas of this country which I don't even attempt to grow in the south. I wish I could, but some things just don't work for me.

I seem to remember a farmer telling me you can get more than one harvest of sprouts from Brussels Sprouts if you don't cut the plant down. I have no idea if that is accurate.

Ted

A couple of times when we have that rare thing called a spring I will get a huge crop of Brussels sprouts. But as I said that is a rare thing. I start picking them sometimes in early February if the plants are set out in time and they can continue making sprouts right into May if we have a really good spring.

Bill