Favorite Brussels Sprouts

Just wondering if anyone has a favorite variety that they have had good luck with. I know its a fall crop and is supposed to taste better after a frost. I haven't eaten good ones since I was a kid and so figured I'd try some next summer. Been glancing through Plant Files and haven't found one that got rave review yet.

I haven't had a chance to post a review yet, but I planted Oliver this year, 4 plants, and got lots of delicious brussels sprouts. I get almost 2 meals for 2 people out of each stalk. I also had enough to give to friends. Frost does help them up to a point. The last time I went out to pick some, after a considerable frost, about 2 weeks ago, they tasted like frozen brussels sprouts such as one buys at the grocery. Good, but nothing like the wonderful ones I had after a few very light frosts and even before any frost.
I will put something up about the taste of Oliver in Plant Files soon.
Anyhow they grow very nicely here in the Rockies and over the years I have planted other varieties that were also good. Brussels Sprouts love our altitude and resulting cool weather. The purple ones take longer to produce than the green ones but are also delicious and my neighbors always think the purple ones are ornamentals. They also admired the green ones, mostly wondering what they were.

Thanks Paj,
Have you grown other varieties other years? Are we the only two that like good b-sprouts? I'm mainly looking at Falstaff and Bubbles cause I can get them cheap from Pinetree Seeds. have to watch the nickles cause this garden project is escalating all over the place.

I purchased a six pack of brussel sprouts from the nursery but I don't remember the variety. Apparently I picked up transplants infested with cabbage looper eggs. My brassicas were fine until I put the Bsprout seedlings in. I think I've picked all the green cats off finally.

I have actually grown several kinds of Brussels sprouts over the years, but haven't paid much attention to variety until I discovered DG. I know that I have grown some Long Island Improved with luck over the years. I have also grown Rubine, a red one. It is not as productive but very beautiful. Still it grows nicely, just not as vigorously. I am not sure whether I have grown bubbles or not. The bottom line is that Brussels Sprouts grow well in the Rocky Mountains but, GM is right, cabbage loopers and aphids can be a problem. I use BT for the cabbage loopers, very effectively. Aphids, I only get toward the end of the season and not too badly. I just wash them off with the hose or off the fruit in the kitchen with running water. You can't go wrong with Oliver or Long Island Improved.

Ok this is going to sound really stupid. Many Many years ago I tried to grow brussels sprouts. I just love them . They grew beautifully but I wasn’t sure when you should harvest them. I would go out and look at them and think they look like what I buy at the store but I just wasn’t sure. In the end I never did pick them. (I know I was very young back then).I’m slowly working myself back into trying a vegetable garden. This year I’d like to grow brussels sprouts and actually harvest them. Anyone interested in explaining the growing and harvesting of Brussels to me. ;} Holly

Plant your Brussels Sprouts in good garden soil in the early spring. They like cold weather. Keep them moist and wait until fall, preferably right after the first frost to pick them. I don't think they have to be frosted to be good, but it does improve the flavor. I think they are good as long as they look like brussels sprouts, but never have picked them young, but probably I should try them early as well.

Brussel sprouts will be bitter is they are grown during the heat. If you plant them in spring, be sure to harvest before the weather gets warm. The fall sown Brussel Sprouts will be much sweeter after a frost. Why not plant several and experiment with the harvsest sizes? I prefer to harvest the sprouts in a small size and cook them whole. Some of my garden neighbors prefer the larger sprouts and halve them to cook. It's really a matter of taste. If you harvest them at different sizes over the season, you'll get a chance to notice how the taste changes as they get bigger.

Do you pick the individual sprouts off the stalk as they reach a good size or do you just take the whole stock discarding the smaller ones?

Oh! I NEVER discard the smaller ones. If they are too small to cook, I eat them raw, right off the stalk.
I usually just pick what I need and leave the plant to grow more. I dont' pull my brussel sprout stalks unless a) they are no longer producing, b) the weather is too hot for a good flavour or c) I need the garden space for the next season's transplants. Thats always the tough part. I hate to pull a plant that is producing. With limited garden space, I have no choice if I want to get the next crop in.

Here at 7, 300 ft. I plant my sprouts in the spring and eat them in the fall. I am sure I could eat some before fall but I never have. I certainly haven't had any problem with bitterness, but it isn't all that hot here in the summer. I guess I will have to plant more stalks and eat them earlier. I do love Brussels sprouts right off the stalk as well, especially the red ones. Some years, none make it to the house.

This is my second post to this forum (the vegetable forum). The first one has opened our eyes to Kale, Mustard Greens, and other green leafy vegetables besides Spinach. I wanted to ask if I should have planted brussel sprouts during Fall? I would like to try my hand at growing them but I don't know if it gets too hot during the summer for them here. Are there any heat-resistant varieties? I saw a recipe for brussel sprouts that sounded so delicious. I hope I can find it again...Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks,

Chuck

You could try planting some now and using a row cover if the weather warrants it.
Then plant some more in the spring and observe how the two crops turn out.
We've had temperatures down to 23.6 inside our garden bed cover over the past week and the brussel sprouts and other cabbages are all doing fine.

Here is a photo that I took this morning. It was warmer today, so I rolled up the mini-greenhouse sides to give the plants some more air. The brussel sprouts are the taller plants in the center and right rear of the photo. Those are Flash collards in the front right. The serrated leaf plants are a type of leaf broccolo from Italy.
In the left front corner you get a glimpse of the savoy cabbages, with a few beets in between. We use an intensive planting technique.

Here is another view angled toward the savoy cabbages. The cabbages in the back center and the ones in the left front were the same size when transplanted. The ones in the back have grown more quickly as they are in the area where the green beans had been growing over the summer. Although we added soil amendments equally, the beans left an extra boost.

In the background you can see the frost burnt eggplant and tomato plants in the neighbors garden bed.

Wow, You sure pack it in. Lots of good eating there. ;}. I've always been more interested in flowers than Vege but with my retirement comming I now have time for both and I have an old garden that has been patiently waiting for me.