sow brussels now??

[Sarah-b]

Read on the bbc web site that brussels take 100 days from sowing to harvesting and that now was the time to sow them - to have them ready for xmas dinner! Can that be right?

Sarah.

[Sarah-b]

[shirl]

Sarah I'd love to know that as well as I shall buy some seeds tomorrow if its possible  :)

[Mrs Ava]

Really?  WOW!  I have room appearing as I clear spuds and sprouts are my most FAVE veg in the world ever!!

[Sarah-b]

Was hoping for a response  - cos I don't believe it.
Go on EJ - you try it and let us know!

[Moggle]

I read that yesterday too, and I want to believe it, but not so sure. Looked up brussels in the HDRA Bible last night, and they say 20 - 26 weeks from seed to harvest - so 140 to 180 days??

I'm game to give it a go.

[Ed^Chigliak]

That must be a very early cropping variety sown unusually late. Worth a try I guess and if you miss xmas by a month or two you can just buy some sprouts at the supermarket.

Let me know what variety they recommend.

I think it was March when I was starting my sprouts.

[ALAN HOWELL]

yes,mine too,planted out mid May as very substantial plants(to dodge clubroot)and they are just about starting to form,so 100days...hhmmmm  :-\          Alan

[lorna]

I said I was going to grow more veg in the garden this year SO here goes!! I love sprouts. Lorna.

[lorna]

PS (sorry) and tips please, never grown them before. Lorna.

[ALAN HOWELL]

Hi Lorna,

start your sprouts in a nursery bed and grow them on until you have a couple of pairs of true leaves,then dig them up and carefully separate them into single seedlings.Prepare your final bed with plenty of manure/compost,trowel out a hole,sprinkle a closed handful of lime into the hole,plant your seedling down to the seed leaves and firm it in well,water them in ,then hope.   Alan

[shirl]

Well this is the info on the bbc's website.

Brussels Sprouts

Love 'em or hate 'em, Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without a handful of those little green balls of trouser-trumpers rattling around the plate between the parsnips and the chipolata sausages.

Brussel sprouts or Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera, take up to 100 days from seeding to harvesting, so to get your sprouts on Christmas Day you should be sowing seeds in early/mid-September. Alternatively, in early/mid-October, you should be able to get established seedlings from the local nursery.

Propagate these seedlings in rows a metre apart, with a foot or so between each plant. Water well (if Mother Nature doesn't do it for you) throughout the growing cycle, easing off a couple of weeks before you need to harvest. Shortly before harvesting, and as the lower leaves show signs of turning yellow, nip out the central stem of the plant. This will curtail vertical growth and will ensure that all the sprouts on the stem ripen at once. Ideally, old Jack Frost will be nipping at your nose during this fortnight, keeping the sprouts firm and tasty. Mild weather will give you mushy, loose, open sprouts.

To harvest, pare the sprouts off with a knife, or break them off by hand

I am going to have a look in wilco's for some seeds and give it a go, nothing to lose really!

One thing though, can I grow sprouts in containers in the greenhouse as everything outside gets eaten by the hens!!

[lorna]

Many thanks for all the info. Now printing  out so I don't forget. Just the thought of lovely little sprouts on my plate., :) Lorna.

[ALAN HOWELL]

Well Shirl,taking your post re-BBC as read. I have just come back from the G/House having sown some B/Sprout seeds :)I will be very interested in their progress,could be an extra crop as beds are coming free.

[shirl]

Well Shirl,taking your post re-BBC as read. I have just come back from the G/House having sown some B/Sprout seeds :)I will be very interested in their progress,could be an extra crop as beds are coming free.

I will be very interested in your little sprouts progress too so please keep us updated.  I'm a new gardener and as things are working out (except garlic and onions, veg of the devil!) im growing in confidence and feel ready to try new things.  I assumed I was too late for this year, but maybe not!

Thank you so much Sarah-b for the post

[redimp]

Will sow some more later despite my packet saying May.

[plot51A]

I planted 2 varieties in March - labels got washed off, but one was supposed to be earlier than the other (?Peer Gynt). My early ones already have sprouts developing, think I will be picking by end of August, the other, later ones, are slightly less tall and not showing signs of sprouting yet - thank goodness. But I was worried about not having some for Christmas/winter. I was ordering some seeds from Seeds of Italy and noticed they listed a brussels sprout variety - Cavolo di Bruxelles - Mezzo Nano which says it can be planted between May and August. My Italian is very poor but the packet says "medeo precoce" which I took to be sort of semi-early and presume they develop more quickly than most variaties.
I sowed some when they arrived at the beginning of the month - 3 weeks ago - and they are at the 4 leaf stage now and ready to go on the plot when all this lovely rain has stopped coming down and made the ground workable again. I will report results in due course!

[spacehopper]

Interesting, FB. I don't know if its true but I've heard it said that plants adapt to the amount of water they have, and if its a bit dry they will send out longer roots to find water lower down in the soil. Sounds like it would have an evolutionary advantage, so makes sense.

Caz