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Re: Brussel sprouts

Both Allan and Stephen Griffiths mentioned the loose soil idea. 
Obviously a "British" concept, as none of my U.S. garden references
mention it, but my British texts do point out that brassicas prefer
heavier soils.  I haven't reread my John Seymour in years -- I'll have
to break it out and do so.

But that doesn't mean that one should overdo it if one has soil of high
clay content.  The soil must still be of good structure.  If the humus
content is high enough that won't be a problem.  

Sandy soils are probably out of the question as far as good brassicas. 
I recall trying to get some very early broccoli on my sandy ground one
year. (I have two very distinct soil types, one sandy and one silty clay
-- the result of living near an active volcano in a recently glaciated
zone!)  Anyway, the experiment was a disaster.  The stuff was virtually
tasteless.  I attributed it to low sunlight levels and nurient leaching
in the sandy ground, but the light soil was probably the main culprit. 
When it comes to brassicas, pay attention to the British gardeners. 
They are the experts!  

Steve  (Maritime...)


Allan Day wrote:
> 
> On Fri 05 Jun, Neason wrote:
> > Marlynn Marcks wrote:
> > >
> > > I have a bunch of Brussel sprout plants I started from seed and they are
> > > doing well--growing by leaps and bounds, actually.  My query is, what
> > > do I do to make decent sized sprouts.  I see golf ball sized ones in the
> > > markets, but last year I had them the size of large peas or beans.  And
> > > the top ones turned into little open cabbages.  I pinched out the top
> > > when it was turnng cool like the books said and harvested the little
> > > things after a few light frosts and they tasted great.  But I'd like
> > > to have larger ones this year. Marlynn
> > >
> > >
> 
>  Some more points
>  Loose sprouts are often due to loose soil at planting time, plant
>  firmly in soil which has settled.
>  Make sure they don't go dry during the summer months when the plant is
> building its structure.
> A foliar feed e.g. Miracle-gro in late summer can work wonders.
> Next year get F1 hybrids, they are much easier to succeed with than the
> older varieties. You will need 2 or 3 sorts for continuity, 1early,1
> Christmas, 1 late.
> I've never heard of pinching out the tops, but then the pigeons often do
> that when the snows come. If not, you can cook these like a mini
> cabbage.
> Pick regularly to avoid old, bitter ones (usually the slow growers)
> 
> --
> Allan Day  Hereford HR2 7AU allan@crwys.demon.co.uk
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