John Vanini wrote:
I was told that if Brussel sprouts are planted or sown in loose soil the
sprouts will not be tight but will be very open leaved and useless as
sprouts.
I've always ignored this and never bothered with tamping down the soil but,
this year, I had to pull up and throw away my row of sprouts because they
were so open leaved as to be useless.

What a waste - sprout tops are wonderfull - almost better than the sprouts
themselves!

I've always understood this too.