Grayish powder or mold on Brussels Sprouts

[kennethc]

Hi all

I noticed a grayish powder or mold on some of my Brussels Sprouts.

Can I wash this powder like substance off the plant and eat or do I have to admit defeat and discard any infected plants?

If the latter is the case, do I need to burn or can I compost?

Many thanks in advance.

Kenneth

[veggiechicken]

Is it on the outer leaves of the sprouts? I'd peel a few and see if they're OK inside. Then I'd eat them.

[Jungle Jane]

It might be the sooty residue left over from cabbage aphids,you can squirt the plants with water & a penny size amount of hand soap. Add some crushed garlic to the water if you have some,they don’t like the smell. Unless it’s powdery mildew,are any other plants affected? I squirted milk on my borage mildew in the autumn it seemed to help....

[Nicos]

Is it on the outer leaves of the sprouts? I'd peel a few and see if they're OK inside. Then I'd eat them.

Or freeze them if they are for Xmas dinner !!!!!!

[kennethc]

My first thought was that it looked fungal. If it's fungal are they edible?

[Vince G]

I do what both Jane and VC do. In the summer I blast bugs off everything with the hose, make the hour of watering I have to do at the lottie a bit less dull. Then when sprouts are ready I peel off the outer affected leave, rinse, and cook

[Jungle Jane]

I peel the outer leaves off to get a clean green sprout too & check if there’s a snail there’s a fungal problem with sprouts called dark spot I just gooogled (if you upload a photo on here & it says fail,make the photo a bit smaller,cut bits of the top & bottom). Garlic’s a fungicide you can squirt it on all the leaves & the sprouts to try & control it. Are the sprouts growing where sprouts have grown in the last two years,spores can survive on the soil surface etc,don’t grow brassica there for three years. I compost my brussel sprouts separately or bury in an area I’m not growing brassicas (I chop & drop a lot of my plants but not them or nightshades). If any fungal spotting does go further into the sprout,cut them in half don’t waste any they’ll be lovely!

[Snoop Puss]

My first thought on reading this was grey mealy aphids. They look powdery on initial inspection. My strategy for these is squish and wash. Don't leave them if the problem is these aphids, as they manage to get inside the sprouts as well.