Brussels sprouts

[oldie]

Moving into my third year growing and want to grow some as 4 of us like them. With a very windy site I am looking at Early Half Tall and Seven Hills. What would be the closest spacing you would recommend? I am using raised and edged beds and normally plant at close spacing.

[jacob marley]

Well i do not normally answer questions on raised bed growing because it is not my type of gardening but i would not plant any closer than 15 inches apart and i would stake them and tie them to the stakes and do not forget the netting over the top to keep them pesky Pigeons away....jacob

[oldie]

Thanks for that. The packet says 60-75cm(24-30") so I thought I could go a bit closer. My other thought was to use a Snadger approach and stick one in wherever there was a space which would probably give me more plants but be a lot more difficult to protect.

[chriscross1966]

Thanks for that. The packet says 60-75cm(24-30") so I thought I could go a bit closer. My other thought was to use a Snadger approach and stick one in wherever there was a space which would probably give me more plants but be a lot more difficult to protect.

Find one of those poundland popup buckets and replace the material with netting... instant 1-brussel netcloche that folds flat when not in use.... ta daaahh!

chrisc

[sweetiepea]

As a grower of brussels in raised beds my advice is don't skimp on space. Every year I try to get an extra plant or two in but the result is alway overcrowding! Give them the space recommended. Its worth it.

[Snadger]

I've tried to grow Brussel Sprouts for years without much success.They always grew spindly or the sprouts blew!
Last year I forsake the traditional heritage varieties and went for two F1's to try and give a succession.
I had & have really good results from Maximus F1 & Trafalgar F1. I am still cropping both of these varieties now and have done for about 3 months!

I have already purchased this years Brussel Sprouts seed..............and guess which two varieties I've went for!!!!!

PS Mine are growing about 15 inches apart in pockets of 5 plants but this year I may plant them as dot plants all over my plot!

[nerdgas]

I'm having a go at Rubine as I like the idea of serving up red sprouts for Xmas!

I've picked up an F1 variety seed from Unwins.

[northmaid]

I grew some great Brussels this year, I think they were Maximus but can't really remember. I just planted them through membrane, about 15" apart, didn't stake at all, netted them, and basically left them. It was probably beginners luck as it was my first year on the allotment and I didn't really know what I was doing. Had a very good crop (still cropping in fact) which was the envy of some of the more experienced growers on the site. My site is fairly exposed but I found the worst of the winds came when the plants were well established so they coped bless 'em.

[jayjay giant]

Mine are 12 inces apart and the rows only 4 inches apart. I grew 20 plants like that and they all did well. Similar spacings for the curly kale too.
However if you are going to grow them that close you need to start them off in pots and transplant at about 6 inches high.
You also need to stuff the bed full of goodness. I used a mix of chicken manure, used hops, old grow bags, fresh horse manure, straw and mushroom compost.
There is a picture on my site of them growing. I was really impressed with the results but it was a lot of effort !
Good luck
JJ

[sarraceniac]

On the advice of Sarzwix I am trying Falstaff this year. I reckon, after experiments with yellow toms, white beetroot and rainbow carrots I may just get one of the grandkids to eat them for Christmas dinner, which they come here for.

If it doesn't work I am sending all the grandkids (I think there are about 40 of them, or it seems that way) to Sarz house for New Year (and Easter etc.)

[Lazgaot]

Give them space if you can spare it. I intercropped mine with PSB's and had massive problems with aphids mildew. Trying to be organic I didn't spray with anything and just had to put up with spending ages preparing the sprouts to eat.

Not sure what variety I grew but I had good results and will grow more again this year but will give them room. Any ideas on a safe method of keeping them aphid and caterpillar free? I've got netting for the pidgeons.

[oldie]

Thanks for all the replies. With the space I want to use I'm going to try 12"each way. That will give me 12 plants.Should be enough for us.

[teakdesk]

... I'm going to try 12"each way. That will give me 12 plants.Should be enough for us.

The trouble with Brussels is that if they find themselves stressed the sprouts will "blow"... in other words, instead of getting a nice tight sprout you get a set of small leaves looking like a fully open rose flower.

At 12" spacing you may get sprouts; but you may find that they all "blow".

So by being "greedy" you don't end up with anything to eat at all... it is sometimes better to aim for a smaller crop and space further apart to increase your chances of getting something edible.




Many people have heard that you can plant closer together with raised beds but this is largely a fallacy; raised beds generally have good drainage and have been fertilised recently and stocked with good compost so plants do florish but the same would happen in open ground that is well drained and well fertilised.

You can raise the bed and feed the soil but you can't change the other factor that plants need.... light!!! Light, or rather the shade each plant gives to the next plant, is often the limiting factor in plant spacing not soil condition.



If your site is windy then stake each plant extremely well; any rocking of the plant in the wind will cause the sprouts to blow.



If you want to compare, maybe you could try a few plants spaced further apart and see which do better?

[womble]

The trouble with Brussels is that if they find themselves stressed the sprouts will "blow"... in other words, instead of getting a nice tight sprout you get a set of small leaves looking like a fully open rose flower.
At 12" spacing you may get sprouts; but you may find that they all "blow".

So by being "greedy" you don't end up with anything to eat at all... it is sometimes better to aim for a smaller crop and space further apart to increase your chances of getting something edible.
Many people have heard that you can plant closer together with raised beds but this is largely a fallacy; raised beds generally have good drainage and have been fertilised recently and stocked with good compost so plants do florish but the same would happen in open ground that is well drained and well fertilised.

You can raise the bed and feed the soil but you can't change the other factor that plants need.... light!!! Light, or rather the shade each plant gives to the next plant, is often the limiting factor in plant spacing not soil condition.
If your site is windy then stake each plant extremely well; any rocking of the plant in the wind will cause the sprouts to blow.



If you want to compare, maybe you could try a few plants spaced further apart and see which do better?

That's a very good post and explains quite nicely why I fail every year, this year I must be more ruthless and leave enough space between plants.... not just try to fit that last one in!

What variety do you recommend?