Sunday 6 January 2013

My Brussels Sprouts were Brilliant

Yes, it's true, my Brussels Sprouts were "Brilliant"; that's the name of the variety. The harvest they produced, though not big, was not brilliant but definitely worthwhile. My 3 plants have provided enough sprouts for approximately 8 servings. But more importantly I have also learnt a few things about growing this vegetable. For a start, next time I will plant them further apart. Mine were only about 15 inches apart this time, and that's not enough. Two feet (or more) would be better. I'm sure that wider spacing will allow each plant to get bigger, and big plants probably produce bigger sprouts.


These don't look too bad in close-up, but in all honesty they are pretty small. For those of you who don't know sprouts, don't be put off by the rather manky blemished exteriors of these sprouts: it is normal to have to remove a few of the outer leaves, but inside they will be fine. These ones of mine are certainly firm, with no sign of blowing (loose texture).


See; this is what they look like after being prepared for cooking:


Once all the sprouts have been used, I'm planning to use the tops of the plants as well. They look very much like cabbages (which in fact they are - since the original Brussels Sprout was a fortuitous natural development of a cabbage), so we'll cook and eat them just like cabbages.


This particular "Brussels Top" was just crying out for an arty photo:-


The Brussels Sprouts were certainly a lot better than last year's Winter experiment, the "Petit Posy" Flower Sprouts, which were a big disappointment. Did any of you grow Brussels Sprouts in 2012, and if so, how did they do?

17 comments:

  1. We did and I am happy to say that they did well! I love sprouts.

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  2. Ah I have been missing the raindrops, they do look rather tasty Mark did you suffer from whitefly with them this year or was it too wet?

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    1. David, I had almost no problems with pests on the sprouts - no whitelfly, aphids, caterpillars, nothing.

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  3. I don't know about Brilliant, they look Fabulous. I haven't had much luck with sprouts before, so didn't grow them this year, but I bought some to have with Christmas dinner. I've never eaten the tops, do they taste of cabbage or sprouts?

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    1. Jo; It's a long time since I had any, but I think they do taste fairly "sprouty"!

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  4. I would have liked to grow Brussels sprouts but could not get any seeds started and none of the stores had any Brussels sprouts plants to sell this year :(

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  5. I am most pleased about you aiming to use the tops and hope you do blog about that Mark.

    Fantastic photos...especially the 'arty' one. ;-)

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  6. My Brussels are about the size of a pea right now. Two months ago I couldn't find a sprout at all, so I think I'm making progress. :-)

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  7. You have made me almost reconsider brussels sprouts. . . they look awesome!

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  8. I'm planning sprouts for this year, I'm trying to grow all the veg for Christmas lunch 2013.

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  9. I had a good crop. Five plants, with one still in the ground right now. I'm getting over a pound per plant. They were planted about 18" apart in boxed raised beds in heavily composted soil. I did water them during the hot dry spells. Also I "topped" the sprouts which forces production into the sprouts and not the tops. It was my second year for sprouts and I'll be doing them again.

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  10. My sprouts were a failure this year. I planted them too late and the aphids also got to them. Maybe another year.

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  11. Oh they look grand. Mmm...another want I am wishing for but not ideally suited for our kind weather.

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  12. Funny, I'm sitting here prepping half a stalk of brussels sprouts even as I try to multi-task and read a few blogs at the same time. But. sorry to say, I did not grow my own. Where I live is the brussels sprouts growing capital of North America, and they do a dang fine job of it, better than I can do myself. I go to the farm stand and buy a whole fresh cut stalk of them for just a few dollars. What is your favorite way to prepare them?

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    1. Michelle, my favourite way of eating sprouts is simply plain boiled. If you LIKE them (as I do), this is the best way to taste them. Iam not a great fan of stir-frying them with garlic and things like that.

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  13. Last year my sprouts "blew" as you call it. My sprouts this year produced very early, like end of August, which was a surprise. My wife is a confirmed sprouts hater but she actually likes my garden sprouts because they are so sweet and lack the strong cabbage taste of store-bought sprouts.

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  14. I'm only a year late commenting but hubby and I grow' Brilliant' every year, they keep us in sprouts from late August/ear;y September if sown early Feb and stand well into the spring. Ive tried a spring variety too but theyve disappointed so we've decided by the time Brilliant has finished that maybe we've had enough sprouts. 25 -30 plants keeps serious sprout fans supplied nearly six months and even when they get big they still taste good.

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