The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:


"Alan Holmes" wrote
Why is it that the sprouts on my plants are so small, this is the second
year it has happened, or am I growing the wrong variety?

Which are Brassica gemmifera, at least that's what it says on the packet!

I think I got them from Wilkinsons.


Check your soil pH, it needs to be 7+, never below 7.
With manure and compost being incorporated it's easy for the pH to creep
down over time.
Are you planting them early enough in the year?
Do you ensure they are well, I mean well, firmed in?

We grow Trafalgar and Icarus both from T & M.


I have had good results with Trafalgar but only small plants with Icarus.

Interestingly, the last two years I have had quite a lot of variation in
the size of brussel sprout plants along the 4' strip I grow them in.
Last year I assumed it was variety, i.e. Icarus, but I'm now wondering
whether it's the amount of compost/manure which particular bits of the
bed have had. (My system of manuring/composting is a bit haphazard)

So in answer to Alan, I would consider enriching the soil; it might well
have got impoverished gradually.

And I'd be interested to know from Bob what size of plant you get from Icarus.

Janet G
--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London