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Vegetable Gardening

Are my brussels sprouts as far along as they should be?

10 years ago

I have a 3' wide by 6' long raised bed in the only sunny corner of my yard. I have a row of three tomato plants on one side, and 2 brussels sprouts, 1 broccoli and 1 parsley along the other side. Tomatoes have been doing great but the broccoli has produced only 1 stalk. Now I'm wondering if the brussels sprouts are as far along as they need to be? Just hoping I didn't try to put too much in the smallish bed. I am in zone 4a for reference and these pics are from today.

Whole bed:
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Close up of brussels sprouts:
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Comments (5)

ceth_k
10 years ago
They look fine to me even though they seem to be growing away from the tomato plants, which might indicate insufficient sunlight.
Mark
10 years ago
They may be a little small but it looks like you should get some sprouts from them late this fall/early winter. If you don't clip the tops, they should keep growing well into december or later, weather depending.

-Mark
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florauk
10 years ago
And remember that the sprout tops are delicious too - they don't taste quite like sprouts or like cabbage. They have their own flavour. They're sold as a separate vegetable here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sprout tops
Mark
10 years ago
I'm not sure, but in the linked article it sounds like they are talking about "flower sprouts", the somewhat new veg that Johnnys seed company is pushing.

The only reason why you would cut the tops off regular brussels sprouts is to promote even sizing of the sprouts for full stem harvest.

Of course, you can eat some leaves if you want but I personally think kale is much tastier....

-Mark
florauk
10 years ago
No, Mark, I assure you they talking about Brussels Sprouts. They are so ubiquitous here that you only need to say 'sprouts' and everyone knows you mean Brussels Sprouts. The tops are cut off after the sprouts have been harvested. As I said, they are sold as a separate green vegetable in their own right here in the UK. There is no tradition here of cutting off the tops to promote growth, only to harvest them as greens.

Until you have tried sprout tops I would not dismiss them. We eat them a lot in winter - they are tender and delicious, not tough like the lower leaves, which we do not eat. If you Google 'Sprout tops' you will get a lot of hits for recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: More on sprout tops

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