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Vegetable Gardening

Newbie to Brussel Sprouts

12 years ago

This is my first time growing brussel sprouts. I read that the leaves have to be removed from the bottom part of the stem every 2 weeks. They are between 4-6 inches tall now. When do I start removing the leaves? When do I pinch or remove the terminal bud?

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Comments (3)

forpityssake
12 years ago
I never remove leaves, until after I've picked the sprouts above the leaf.
hamiltongardener
12 years ago
I remove about the bottom half of the leaves but at 4-6 inches, it's too early to. Maybe once it's about a foot tall?

Oh, and you can eat those leaves you remove.

I also don't pinch out the top but I remove and eat the sprouts working from the bottom up as it grows. So the plant just keeps growing and getting eaten until the temps get too cold for growing.
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Never heard that one macky. I think they all prefer pretty fertile soil. I think it's all about a timing thing. I've had differently timed successions of broccoli and cauli in the same plot turn out different sized heads. I can plant them from Aug-Feb, but I notice the closer I get to the winter solstice to planting, the smaller the head. Which makes sense because the amount of sunlight. I also notice that my winter harvests(when planted in late/summer/early fall) are a bit better than my early summer summer harvests. With my Brussels, I get big plants and I get sprouts. They're just always loose leaf sprouts. I read last year that July is supposed to be optimum for them here, so I'll give it one more shot I don't know how that's supposed to work out though -- our summers don't really get going until late july. Kevin
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I had brussel sprouts in the spring that did squazoo, all summer they sat and grew. They are now over 4' tall and have big sprouts up the stem about halfway and then decrease until tiny tiny at the top. Our spring here was warmish and then bam, right into mid summer in temp. I guess it inhibited the growth. I was patient, actually didn't need that specific space, and it appears I will get produce after all.
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flora_uk
12 years ago
Sprout tops are a delicious vegetable in their own right and I often buy them specially from my greengrocer. I'd eat them when they look like a small cabbage - 8 - 10 inches across near the end of the sprout season. I'd leave the stem leaves on until you start picking the sprouts or until they start yellowing even. It's not a rule they have to come off but the plants do look neater.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing sprouts

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