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When and how to grow Brussels sprouts
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- čas přidán 2. 08. 2024
- For more on growing Brussels or any of the brassicas please check out my book, there's a web based version freely available online, just click here: gardening-ebook.info
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I love the idea of Brussels for leaves. Im a big fan of spring greens and brussel sprouts so if i can get the best of both worlds with growing for the leaves, I'll be so happy.
I love them, picked some today!
Great information thank you for this video, I need to give my sprouts better support this year
I use metal fence pins, I find they are just the right size : All the best - Steve
A good tip for your sprouts is plant them in Very well trodden soil as hard as you can get it
This way you get firm sprouts, not blown.
Trust me, I've been growing em over 50 years.
Thanks Steve for Shari g going to grow a few this year
excellent : All the best - Steve
Brilliant stuff Steve. Must underline the beauty of Kalettes, best winter crop ever! Brussells tops might come in second for flavour too. Happy New Year mate!
I agree Steve, I can't quite understand why they're not that popular! : All the best - Steve
Great advice and inspiration. Thank you.
Thanks for the feedback Gillian : All the best - Steve
Just having a recap on growing sprouts. It's great being able to come back and check up on the how and when.
The book makes it easier, you get the video and the text
I'm really pleased I watched this.
Thanks for the feedback! : All the best - Steve
Thanks for the pointers Steve, I needed this to get my succession in order; I'm already off the chart. Jan 6 Zone 7 rain belt - I transplanted sprouting broccoli and Romanesco broccoli singles into 4 inch pots and the purple brussels sprouts in threes into 8 inch pots in a warm polytunnel under supplemental light to get them outside early to make space for the flats of Hostas, Tuscan Kale and Swiss Chard youngsters, so probably first week of Feb. I hope they handle the odd timing OK and I might reorganize that. I'll cover some of them a bit as they don't need nearly as much rain as we get, so the roots might be more aerobic. I have a few recycled glass door panels to prop up, lean-to style.
I like the idea of eating sprouts leaves coz sprouts take so long. It's not clear whether you cut them down in May for the leaves or start to cut them back in May; I was thinking of cut and come again for as long as they hold out...
Hostas are worth an extra note for an early perennial harvest in partial shade.
All the best from northern Vancouver Island :)
Hi Duncan, In my conditions, the main thing to pay attention to when growing over winter is what goes to seed when, your kale will probably go to seed in April/May, as will your chard. Your Romanesco will be fine, but your PSB will probably go to seed in spring, probably as small plants, depending on the variety. My over-wintered sprouts will be removed in late Feb/March, Kalettes last a little longer sometimes before they go to seed, my new sprout plants will be planted in March, we eat the leaves for most of the year. I've not tried hosta's as a veg crop : All the best - Steve
sprouts do take a long time and they are a bit of a waste of space it you don't eat the leaves and the tops. However they are a very useful veg in December, January and Febuary when nothing else is growing : All the best - Steve
I planted around 10 in seedling pots start of July, and I plan to have them in the ground around October. The seedlings are still fairly small though and it's been a month
Hi Anna, July is normally the last planting, rather than the last sowing date (assuming you are in the UK) it's unlikely you will get much of a crop planting in October, unless you are planting in a greenhouse/polytunnel, but you might get some good leaves. Also Anna Richards is my youngest daughter's name :-) : All the best - Steve
Thanks a lot for sharing your video .Now I know why my Brussel Sprouts died because I planted it in May.I apreciate your help with this video.
May is actually a great time to sow main-crop Brussels, I wonder when you sowed it?
get video steve and very good points, what do you use for netting? i use scaffold/debris netteing on mine only trouble i tend to get is aphid which is delt with a bit of saopy water or a bit of soapywater and neem oil mixed in.
I use this stuff, because I need 10m by 4m and can't get debris netting that big, but I use it on my smaller beds easynets.co.uk/product.asp?ProductID=32&ProductName=Vegetablemesh_Extra_Fine&CategoryID=21. Soapy water and neem oil here too! : All the best - Steve
Hi Steve, Brit in Connecticut USA. I stumbled on your video because I just received delivery of a dozen sprout seedlings that are about 100mm tall (4") and being half way thru September I started to research whether it is too late to plant them. I ordered them back in July but it took two months for the company to ship them out. We can have some really brutal winds and cold here during winter and suspect this may be the first thing I plant in the new greenhouse to kind of extend my growing season beyond the first frost. I'd totally forgotten how mild it can be in the UK in January so it was a surprise to see green growing things in a bed and not in a greenhouse. That's what 24 years away from the UK does to ya. Take care!
It's fairly mild and windy in Lytham St Annes, every one of our beds grows over winter, but some have a bit of protection. You might now get great sprouts, but you will certainly get some nice leaves : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Hi Steve, I hadn't considered eating the leaves but if I don't get good sprouts that's what I'll be doing for sure. Thanks again!
Sprout leaves are the best Vince, check out czcams.com/video/qKy5_K4L_GI/video.html : All the best - Steve
Hallo Steve, excellent video: very relevant to my needs. As mentioned before, I have never liked sprouts but love brussel tops. However, by shredding sprouts (v. cheap at Christmas) and either stir frying them or cooking them with spices, I'm growing to like them. Who'd have thought it? I shall try growing both a few sprouts and sprouts for leaves. I probably do not have enough space to plant kalettes as well this year. Do you grow purple sprouting broccoli? I am trying to grow 3 (!) this year. Thanks. Nuka.
Yes Nuka, I grow a summer/autumn PSB and two Spring varieties. : All the best - Steve
nice sprouts indeed
Wow this is great wish i could do sprouts ❤
What problem do you have with sprouts Claire? : All the best - Steve
Thanks Steve, really good video. 👍
Love this vlog. Interested in the 'alternative' too sprouts. You mention 'collets' but I tried googling it, and could not find any thing matching what appeared in your garden. I would love to grow them, but what is the name I should use when trying to buy seed? Happy New Year, and Best Regards.
Thanks Gordon, they are Kalettes www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=kalettes&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 I like the ones from Johnsons, as they have a mix of early and late varieties in the same packet : All the best - Steve
Thank you 👍
I want them for Christmas dinner so am planting now
Nice one Steve. Lovely sprout tutorial mate!
Thanks Steve, when do you sow/plant yours? : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards May or June and September, Steve. I have some nice stalks ready to be picked at present
interesting, so you are a fan of late planting!
@@SteveRichards Oh yes
Hi Steve, I have just got my first Allotment and wondered if it would be ok to use Butterfly netting over the sprouts in April till August. Thanks for all your really helpful videos they are really helping me plan ahead.
Hi Derek, butterfly netting is great for sprouts, although I would plant them in early May myself, here's the chapter of my book on sprouts steverichards.notion.site/Brussels-Sprouts-3622ea0a0082450da028867b33e15d49 : All the best - Steve
Thank you x
Steve, where do you obtain your spent mushroom compost... is it cheaper to directly contact a mushroom farm
I get mine from KC compost, maybe you could get it direct, but KC compost it after use
We've been eating sprout leaves since early November and they are delicious. After watching one of your videos I bought some Kalette seeds to try so will be following you when you start sowing them. Yesterday I prepared a new raised bed and have filled it with rotting leaves and well rotted compost from my bin. I plan to cover it with plastic sheet and leave it now until April or May to just settle itself down. It's in a great spot too so the planting and harvesting will be easy. Come April or May I will top dress it with bought in compost before planting it up. Is there any particular brand that you would recommend
Hi Cherie, I top dress with mushroom compost myself, it's cheap and sterile (ie free of weed seeds) : All the best - Steve
Hi Steve
I am sold on the sprout leaves but never tried them before.
Please could you let me know how you prepare them to eat? Do you eat them raw in salads, or steam, boil, stir fries?
I am also planning to have a go at growing kalettes as well this year. Presumably these are boiled for a few minutes in he same way as kale and Brussel sprouts?
Lastly, the field beans (tops) are these eaten raw like pea shoots or cooked?
Any feedback much appreciated.
Cheers
David
Hi David, we normally steam them, but all of the options will probably work : All the best - Steve
I have germinated 40 baby plants in my basement. And found this wonderful video
Must learn what to do in the next 3-4 months. My garden is in Manchester Connecticut.
It’s exciting to see so many BS on one stamp.
See my monthly guide on what to sow when, my ebook has more details, it's linked in the description of the sowing guides czcams.com/play/PLFhKoRR-NiCKqiCDNX9LLMlZgsY_Lq66e.html : All the best - Steve
Mike McGraph of "You Bet Your Garden" podcast is advising up sto start our Brussels indoors Feb1st and plant out April 1st. I sowed in June and was really too late. I am looking forward to planting this year. Thirty-six inches apart seems to be Ideal. How much distance to you allow between sprouts? I will cover mine with a fleece as well so the Cabbage moths don't destroy them. I am going to plant some Red Bull ones with your advice in mind.
That might work for him, but you saw my sprouts in the video, I don't want to mess with success. There really is no point sowing extra early, when a plant is going to be in the ground for so long, planting in April means a lot of high winds and frosts around here. Charles Dowding likes to plant late like you, but as you saw in the video it doesn't work well for me. I think 36" is at the high end for spacing, but you can see what I do in this video czcams.com/video/7N39XInJB5Q/video.html I wouldn't use fleece to protect the sprouts, it's too hot, environmesh is better, this is the one I use easynets.co.uk/product.asp?ProductID=32&ProductName=Vegetablemesh_Extra_Fine&CategoryID=21
Where do you get and what make is the BT? and environmesh. How much space do you have? those beds look large. The field beans i started are up..yey! THANK YOU for all this and how to maintain crops and pick feild beans. Are yous quare foot gardening for optimal crops? I dont think i make the best of my space and may redesing as i have lots of grass paths..which is a pain.
Hi Rosi, I get the Bacillus Thuringiensis off eBay. The environmesh is from www.easynets.co.uk/. The beds are 10m by 3m. I'm not square foot, I'm my own thing. Sometimes I plant intensively, sometimes not, depends on the crop. Sq ft gardening only makes sense in my view if you have a very small area, as it's very time intensive. We have a total of approx 250m2 of growing area. We got rid of our grass paths because they took ages to maintain, too narrow for a mower and not level, but some people on our site have lovely grass paths, sized perfectly for a little electric mower : All the best - Steve
I am on the fence about trying kalettes here in the states seeds with shipping would cost almost 10 pounds (around $8 USD) are they worth it do you think Steve?
It would be worth it for me, but only for these reasons: we grow about 14 plants, we grow them well, we are self-sufficient and Kalettes are superb all through winter. In strictly economic terms, it would probably be cheaper to buy cabbages from the shops, but that's not my approach to life. I might have good news of you though, they are called Flower Sprouts in the US www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/kalettes/kaleidoscope-mix-f1-flower-sprout-seed-2668.html#q=flower%2Bsprouts&lang=en_US&start=1 : All the best - Steve
Great Video!
I noticed you have the leaves trimmed on all your sprouts except for the top leaves.
I just did that to mine after watching a different video earlier. I suppose the purpose is that the sprouts can get more exposure from the sun and other elements? Is there a negative side to pruning the leaves this much? Maybe the sprouts can get too much sun exposure? I live in the SF Bay Area, btw. Thanks!
To be honest I mainly do it because we eat the leaves! However it gives the sprouts more space to develop on the stem, reduces risk of damage, I'm not sure about light exposure I'm afraid : All the best - Steve
I want to grow some for Christmas this year when do I sow the seeds and plant outside
Hi Andrew, sow no earlier than mid March, plant early May. If needed you can sow a little later and still get a crop : All the best - Steve
Where do you get mushroom compost I'm in Ipswich please
I get mine from KC compost, but unfortunately they won't deliver to you, good luck with your search! : All the best - Steve
Thank you.
I was thinking about sowing some Brussels seeds now (June) and was hoping to harvest for Christmas.
If not ideal, are there any 'winter' veg crops that I can start from seed at this time of year?
Hi, you will definitely get a leaf crop from brussels sown now, you will probably get sprouts if you take the tops off the plants in November and give the plants good light and space. I'm sowing some myself. The classic winter veg to sow now is kale, loads of different options for different tastes. You can also start spring cabbages to harvest loose leaf and you just have time to sow winter cauliflowers, savoy cabbage, beetroot and carrots too, for late winter/early spring you can sow purple sprouting broccoli : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Thank you Steve 👍
Wow! I'm impressed
Impressed by sprouts :-) you must impress easily Tracy : All the best - Steve
Hahaha, you would be too if you saw mine. They are the size of peas and all gathered round the top.
I had one plant like that, I showed it in the video, planted late, not much light and in new bed that didn't have much in the way of organic matter : All the best - Steve
Superb video and really educational, I love sprouts and was not sure when I should plant them until I watched this, I would love to know why you have a polly tunnel compared to a large greenhouse, I just finished my victorian 5m x 3m greenhouse and wondered what the difference is between polytunnel and greenhouse for growing and storing in winter, I have orange trees and lemon trees in my new greenhouse and the Trees seem to love it in there as there is lots of growth going on and flowering on the lemon tree. I did a video on making the 5mx3m victorian greenhouse on my channel.
Polytunnel is much cheaper and the poly diffuses the light so you get a much more even light distribution, especially in winter. Greenhouse a little warmer in winter though and potentially better ventilated with roof lights. : all the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards can I plant the sprouts now start if July or is it too late for a Xmas harvest
It's probably too late, but you will get a leaf crop. If you want to give it a try remove the sprout top in November and this will stimulate the production of the sprouts : All the best - Steve
Hi Steve it's my first proper year at growing have you any links for bt
Hi Justin, I’ve covered this in the chapter of my ebook on pests, free to read here: www.notion.so/steverichards/Dealing-with-pests-d43c58a85b6b44bb8c5d7a0203b44488
Hello Steve , I’m really new to veg growing so I hope this isn’t a daft question . I sowed some sprouts in seed tray modules about 3 weeks ago and they’ve been on my windowsill . They are growing well but will i need to pot them onto something bigger before planting them out ? I’m in the Uk so I think it’s to early now to plant out ? Thank you mate 👍🏻
Hi Jamie, it's way too early to plant them outside without protection. For main crop sprouts, ie the ones you want to harvest in winter, I normally sow mine in mid March and plant them out in early May. I also do an earlier sowing for a harvest in summer, but I assume you've just sown your winter ones very early, in which case, yes, you will need to pot them on, probably twice between now and May. I'd also try and get them outside, in full sun, on warm sunny days, otherwise they will be extremely leggy : All the best - Steve
Love
I'm a new subscriber. What species of field beans are you growing in this video? Thank you, Neil in Oregon
They don’t typically have a variety name, but you can get them from Kings Seeds
OMG. Those are gorgeous. I absolutely love brussel sprouts, but never grown them because of Ky hot summers. Is there a certain type you could recommend
Fillbasket for a summer harvest, Brest for a winter harvest : All the best - Steve
Hi! When you cut the tops off the field beans, do you chop and drop? Or take the leaves out of the bed?
Over winter and in early spring we harvest the growing tips as a crop, which keeps the plants small, ie 6" or less. In spring we can't harvest as fast as they grow, so they get to about 12-18" we snip them off just below the soil surface and then what we do depends on the follow on crop. If it's squash (planted in June) we chop and drop in April and cover with compost to rot down. If it's winter brassicas (planted in early May) we compost the tops : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards thanks!!
Hi Steve,
I have small black flies inside my sprouts(possibly mealy aphids). Do you know if they will have to be composted or is there some kind of spray or treatment that you know of to rescue the plants.
Hopefully you can advise.
Richard
If they are cabbage aphid, they are grey and slimy and if I get them I blast them with a hose at full power, that sometimes does the trick. After that you could try water with horticultural soap and possibly add neem oil (although it might be too cold for the neem oil now) finally as a last resort you could try pyrethrum, but it's quite likely they will be resistant to it : All the best - Steve
Thanks for the advice Steve, my allotment site doesn't have mains water and the flies are right into the core of the sprouts so I am going to have a go with some horticultural soap with a drop of neem oil added and keep my fingers crossed. Maybe I should have used something when I took the top nets off? You live and learn.
Many regards
Richard
They are often under the nets, you could still spray with a normal pump action spray on full. Neem oil is probably solid now, so put it somewhere warm and take some warm water to the plot if you can to make sure the oil emulsifies , good luck : All the best - Steve
Would planting parsnip with sprouts and kaletts be advisable?
Probably not, because they would cast a lot of shade over the parsnips for a lot of their lives. The best interplants for Brussels and Kalettes are things that don't mind shade (cabbage, calabrese), or don't take up much space (bunched leeks) in spring and summer. In autumn when the leaves have dropped field beans are good. See my book for more details www.notion.so/Individual-growing-guides-bc279089de074c0ab0bfedc4f41d54dd : All the best - Steve
When do you remove the side leaves? Also do you stake them? They look pretty tall
I eat the better quality side leaves, from about august onwards. I do stake them
Hello brassicas ist good plant. Mmmm thanks
Hi Steve where do you get your BT from?
eBay, import from Holland, too much for just me, so I share with other allotmenteers : all the best - Steve
Hi Steve, I’ve just been looking on ebay, and post Brexit it may be more difficult to obtain. Do you use the “Kurstaki” variety, or the “Aizawai” variety? It seems they are pest specific .
Thanks for all your great content!
Mornin' Steve. Do the red sprouts taste any different to the green ones.
Reportedly a little sweeter, but I didn't really tell the difference : All the best - Steve
When should I eat the tops to develop the sprouts in time for my Christmas lunch?
There's no rule, the sprouts develop just fine with the tops on, but you can accelerate formation a little in winter by removing the tops. I depends from year to year whether it's worth doing that. Personally I think tops are great to eat after christmas, because that's when we have a shortage of greens. Removing the tops works better for early crops in autumn though : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Thanks Steve
Learned a lot from this video. Thankyou. Can I ask when did you sow the field beans for eating the shoots during winter?
October
@@SteveRichards thankyou
I’d like to control pests like butterfly and moth but I don’t want to kill the caterpillars. Are there any companion plants to which I could transfer the feasting caterpillars, so that they continue the lifecycle but not damage my crops? Or should I plant some “sacrificial brassicas”?
I only know of summer sacrificial plants such as nasturtiums, which I grow, and place big caterpillars there. Unfortunately I have been guilty of squashing the tiny ones. Mea culpa. Cheers. Nuka.
We have plenty of perennial kales that are too big to net, the cabbage whites have plenty to go at with those, there's never a risk that they won't have enough places for the caterpillars to complete their lifecycle on our allotments. I've never found companion planting all that effective : All the best - Steve
If there planted in March do sprouts become firmer and rounder only when iv grown them they don't swell out into tight Brussels
It's usually considered that firm planting in firm soil gives tight heads of brassicas. Especially important for sprouts as they grow tall and experience the winds of the winter. Good luck.
That's the theory Gwen, but it's impossible to really plant firm into our sandy soil, so we support ours with fence pins. It's not really an issue for us though because we love blown and loose sprouts : All the best - Steve
Should I cut the flowers off as the plants are growing?
you can do, but if they are flowering now then they are going to seed because of the hot weather this spring, best to eat as much as you can and remove them, so you can re-plant with something else. Once they start to go to seed, that's where all their energies go : All the best - Steve
Very informative. Do you trim off your lower leaves?
When they are no longer eating quality we remove them Richard. I've just been picking sprouts today actually and the lower leaves were still first class so I harvested them at the same time : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Oh I see, I didn't realise that you ate the lower leaves I thought that you just removed them to improve the sprout harvest and you just ate the tops.
Cheers Richard
It depends on the quality, sometimes they don't age well so they are just composted. I have huge sprouts already though and all the leaves intact, I only need to remove the leaves for access : All the best - Steve
What variety of sprouts do you grow?
I grow whatever's to hand at the moment, Brendan, Fillibasket and a few more, I don't have a favourite yet : All the best - Steve
Steve's Seaside Allotment- Thanks for the reply. Will definitely be giving your method a try this year as mine have been rubbish this year. Thanks again 🙂
any chance the sprouts would thrive in pots on my terrace.
They wouldn't be my first choice for containers, they are very large hungry plants and they are in the ground for a very long time. Kale would be a better bet, but if you are prepared to take a risk you could try growing them for leaves, but only harvest over a 2-3 month period : All the best - Steve
Steve's Seaside Allotment thanks for that I’ll try some kale.
Hello. Good vid. I just subbed 😁
Great, hope you enjoy it : All the best - Steve
Wonderfully helpful video, Steve. Thank you. This is the first time I've heard of field beans. I googled then but it all seems to about growing for dry cooking beans. What varieties should I look for to use as greens as you do?
I'm in the US northern California 9b where my challenge is long HOT dry summers. Have been trying BS for abt 4 years without success but will keep trying different ways cuz I love them.
People in the US seem to struggle finding them as there’s no variety, but fava beans grown as a green manure might help : all the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Thanks.
Am I spelling it right kalets or callets
Here’s all the details in my ebook www.notion.so/Kalettes-1e9e07e27b8f43a0891fd56045a865ee
Steve I'm looking for shows that tell Wen and how to plant plants so u get seeds from them.
Collecting Ur own seeds is important lessons.
Have a got seed producing vids.
I don't have the space to collect seeds John, but realseeds have some useful information on their website : All the best - Steve
Wow looks like you need a lot of land to grow Brussels sprouts, I thought I could grow them in 30 litre pots! What do you think?
Yeah, they will grow in a big pot, but you’d need some way to support them if it’s windy
Thank you 🙏🏻
I think Brussels are the prettiest looking greens.
They are lovely! : All the best - Steve
Another great video. Gonna try the butterfly stuff. Last year I had nothing but issue with caterpillars
I should mention that it washes off in the rain, otherwise it lasts a week or two, apply when you first see caterpillars and then every two weeks or so in the evening : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards ok thanks will do.
Unmeasurable problem!
No good saying march where in march. Some people have no idea how to teach.
Anytime in March will work, but the best time in March depends very much on where you live, so you have to experiment and learn for yourself. If someone tells you a specific date in March they are just giving you false confidence : all the best - Steve