| What is the proper method for broccolli cultivation. Last year all I got was a big, albeit attractive flower. Is this also the same for brussel sprouts? |
| harvesting, you should remove heads from the bottom up, and detaching them is easier if you pick off the leaf below the sprout with a twisting motion. It helps the plant develop good sized brussel sprouts to "top off" the plant. In mid August, when the lowest sprouts begin to swell, remove the terminal growth point (the top two to three inches of the plant, where new leaves emerge). Instead of continuing to elongate, forming more leaves and sprouts that don't have time to mature before hard frost, the plant will divert energy to the sprouts that have already formed. You can help sprouts get bigger by stripping the leaves along the stem when the sprouts have reached one half their desired size (1/2 diameter) and after those leaves begin to fade and yellow, late in the season. The leaves have outlived their usefulness by then and are shading the green leaves of the young sprout. Best of luck! harvesting, you should remove heads from the bottom up, and detaching them is easier if you pick off the leaf below the sprout with a twisting motion. It helps the plant develop good sized brussel sprouts to "top off" the plant. In mid August, when the lowest sprouts begin to swell, remove the terminal growth point (the top two to three inches of the plant, where new leaves emerge). Instead of continuing to elongate, forming more leaves and sprouts that don't have time to mature before hard frost, the plant will divert energy to the sprouts that have already formed. You can help sprouts get bigger by stripping the leaves along the stem when the sprouts have reached one half their desired size (1/2 diameter) and after those leaves begin to fade and yellow, late in the season. The leaves have outlived their usefulness by then and are shading the green leaves of the young sprout. Best of luck! |
