Brussels Sprout Production

[Marck]

If the rot enters the heads due to their loosen, then correcting that problem might prevent the soft rot. Overhead irrigation should also be avoided but in a rainy climate that might not be much help. I'm not sure which fungicides if any could be used to effectively prevent soft rot. Also consider crop rotation in future years to reduce pathogenic spores in the planting area.

 

[roadrunner]

I still have not been successful in growing brussels sprouts; however, I have one plant that survived from last year (I have no idea how it survived our summer) and now that it's getting cold again, I'm eager to see if it produces sprouts.

 

[Chuck]

I still have not been successful in growing brussels sprouts; however, I have one plant that survived from last year (I have no idea how it survived our summer) and now that it's getting cold again, I'm eager to see if it produces sprouts.

I have found that brussel sprouts are very erratic in their growth and production, very unpredictable. One year I will have a great crop and the next very poor even with the weather being perfect. I have also found that they are very heavy feeders, much more so than other brassicas. Another thing that I have experienced is that they, for some reason, do not like loose soil. They like it compacted. This makes no sense to me but I have learned to compact the soil very very tightly by stepping on the soil all around the plant at time of planting out to a distance of about 1 1/2 foot radius. Even with all of the extra fertilizer and soil compaction, it is still a gamble as to whether I will have a decent crop.

 

[Meadowlark]

I planted some Brussels Sprouts last year, just because...then I read (after it was too late) that they take a long time to produce and I'm starting to see that..

Yes, they do take a relatively long time to mature to harvest...4-5 months in my climate. Further they require temps of 45 deg f to 75 deg f during that time. However, they are well worth the wait.

We will get several meals out of these, Long Island Improved (Brassica oleracea), which were planted in Oct. and harvested today. In the interim they survived several freezes with temps dropping into the mid-twenties.

 

[NigelJ]

Brussel sprouts not tight; can be caused by wind rock, they need to be planted very firmly. Planting; make holes with dibber drop in plants use dibber to firm them in, water then use the heel to really firm them in. If in windy spot support with string and sticks. Regularly check plants and refirm as required.
Brown rot can be the result of boron deficiency so scatter a handful of borax along the row when planting. Boron also helps produce tight sprouts and solid curds in caulis.

 

[Meadowlark]

You are spot on regarding boron deficiency. That is especially critical in cauliflower growing also as I mentioned in the "perfect cauliflower" thread.

Boron deficiency can be subtle and the only way to know for certain is a soil test. My soil tested 0.06 ppm and the normal range should be 0.2 to 0.6 ppm. Borax is the simple fix.

 

[plot22]

They do not like wind rock and will tend to blow if subjected to this. I set them deep even past the 1st leaf and then heel them in or pound the earth around them with a lump hammer. I do not remove the tops as it does not seem to do much good in fact just the opposite but I do remove lower leaves and particularly the brown leaves that have fallen off and hide all the nasties underneath. I cover all my brassicas with very fine netting to stop the butterflies but even so we get white fly which is a major problem. In the past I have had to wait for my garlic to be harvested to use the net on my sprouts but this year 2022 I have a new net just for them so I will be setting them earlier and fingers crossed. I have clubroot on my plot so I have to grow club root resistant varieties of all brassicas with pretty good success.