Cabbage white fly are a problem on the sprout plants. The white flies are found on the underside of the leaves, and fly off when disturbed, forming a cloud of flies when there is a bad infestation.
whitefly-under-sprout-leaf
The flat, oval nymphs actually stick to the leaf.
The whitefly usually disappear when the cold weather arrives and the sprouts grow away from any affects. But this year they have done a lot of damage to the buttons already, before it has got very cold. Is this an affect of global warming?
Brussels-sprout-row
In a bad attack of white fly, sooty moulds will start growing on the sugary honeydew left by the white fly. The sooty moulds are a consequence of the whitefly attack & can have serious effects which ruin the sprout buttons. This has already started to happen and we will have to take another look at how to control cabbage white fly on sprouts.
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Brussels Sprouts are a traditional winter vegetable and the plants can stay outside all winter.
sprouts in snow
To grow Brussels Sprouts:
The Brussels Sprout plants prefer soil to be:
- dug in autumn
- firmed well down before the seedlings are transplanted
- fertile – compost or well rotted farm yard manure can be mixed in when dug in autumn
- not acid – add lime if necessary
Planting out seedlings:
- plant so lowest leaves are just above surface
- firm in well
- leave about 60-80cm (2-2.5ft) between plants
- water well after planting
- cover with protective netting against insects & birds
Looking after Brussel Sprouts:
- keep weeds down by hoeing regularly
- keep birds off
enviromesh-over-brassica
- watch out for cabbage whites and aphids
caterpillars-on-sprout
- stake the plants if they are blowing in the wind
staking-sprouts
Harvest Brussels Sprouts:
- when the lowest buttons are the size of a walnut
big-sprouts-below
brussels-sprout-stalk
- the top third of the stem are picked last
- the sprout tops can be broken off & eaten as greens around Christmas time
sprout-top
The deer have been eating the exposed green leaves whilst the snow was on the ground and they have done considerable damage in the vegetable garden.
sprout-leaves-eaten-by-deer
The deer have eaten the Brussels sprout leaves and some tops.
deer-damaged-sprouts
It is the Brussels sprout plants at the end of the rows which have suffered.
deer-eat-sprout-row
The cabbage had a better covering of snow, but a couple must have been sticking out far enough to be tempting!
cabbage-eaten-by-deer
The cabbages are now covered with a net just in case!
cabbage-in-snow
It is nice to see the deer, and so far we can afford to share some greens with them.
deer-full-of-garden
Do you know of anyone else suffering damage from deer in the vegetable garden?
Here is a recipe using Brussels sprouts which is ideal for a winter lunch or supper.
sprouts-with-bacon
Ingredients for 2 people:
- 14 cleaned Brussels sprouts
- medium onion peeled & chopped
- 4 rashers of bacon chopped
- rapeseed oil for frying
- black pepper
Method:
- place the sprouts in boiling water & par-boil until just crunchy (about 8 minutes)
- drain the sprouts
- as the sprouts are cooking, fry the onion and bacon until crunchy in the rapeseed oil
- add the partly cooked sprouts to the frying mixture, and stir in for about 3 minutes
- grind some black pepper over the mixture
- serve!
Time: about 15 minutes from start to finish
We used Bridget sprouts & Woburn Country Foods black back bacon as it gave it a sweet, smoky flavour.
dish-of-sprouts-with-bacon
This is another sprout recipe to add the GreatBigVegetableChallenge list!
Served with a baked potato, it was a great Sprout Supper!
Black sooty moulds are appearing on Brussel Sprouts.
Brussels-sprout-row
The black sooty mould can be sticky and is the result of a whitefly attack. Cabbage whitefly overwinters on brussel sprouts as adult insects. Adult whitefly and their nymphs suck sap from the sprout plant and excrete a sugary substance (honeydew) onto the leaves.
Sooty moulds then grow on this sugary substance – and can make a real mess of the sprout buttons. The warmer the weather the worse the problem is. Click the link for more information on Cabbage whitefly which is the cause of black sooty moulds on brussel sprouts.
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Brussels-sprouts will provide vegetables for the winter months and deserve some extra care.
- Pull off any yellow leaves, which will develop at the bottom of the stalk as part of the natural ageing process. Cart them well away.
- Make sure the sprouts are secure on their stakes, to withstand the winter winds.
staking-sprouts
- Be prepared & protect the brussels-sprout plants from pigeons, which appear from no-where when the temperature drops. Pigeons cause havoc in a very short time, so it is better to keep them off from the start.
- Pick the sprouts when they are about 1inch (2-3cm) in diameter. The bottom ones will be ready first. The others will be ready to harvest in stages over the next couple of months.
big-sprouts-below
Brussel sprouts give great rewards for a little care.
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