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Vegetable Gardening

brussel sprouts question

14 years ago

So I planted some Jade Cross brussel sprouts about 8 weeks ago in a high tunnel owned by a friend. This is my first time to grow them. They've grown to about 16 inches tall with huge leaves. They seem to be doing very well and I can see what I believe are sprouts beginning to form in the joints above the lower leaf stems.

Do I need to trim any of the lower leaves? The pictures I have seen on the internet of a mature plant show only leaf growth at the top and no leaves along the stem. That may be something the photographer did just so you can see the sprouts, I'm not sure.

Does anyone know if I need to trim any part of the plant or should I just leave them be and keep up regular waterings and feedings? As always, thanks in advance for any help.

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Comments (2)

justaguy2
14 years ago
Just leave them be. The leaves are there to allow the plant to produce food for itself. Removing the leaves simply limits the amount of food the plant can produce.

In many cases the lowest sprouts mature before the upper sprouts and what some do is remove the lower leaves as they harvest to make getting at the sprouts easier. This seems unnecessary to me, but feel free to do so if you like. At this stage the plant's need for high amounts of food is coming to an end anyway.
bartjones
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks very much. I'll leave them alone.
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