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Old 06-10-2008, 05:19 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
michael michael is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2007
Posts: 96
Default How to grow brussel sprouts

I grow most vegetables successfully,but have real problems with
brussel sprouts,particularly those that are ready from December to
March.I try to grow the variety Wellington,and can never really get
good plants that stay healthy and robust from the planting time in
May.My soil is fairly light (sandy) and I am always adding compost and
well rotted horse manure to enrich it.I do occasionally get club root
problems,but have overcome this mainly by heavy liming in the
winter,as well as putting lime into the hole when planting.I also grow
the plants in pots,and end up with strong plants in 5" pots with a
good root system.They seem just fine for the first few months,until
about September in fact when the sprouts start to form.From then on
the plants start dropping lower leaves,and by now (early October)about
half of the lower leaves have turned yellow,and the sprouts are still
only about a centimetre diameter.In my past experience this size is
about as big as they get,as the plant has effectively stopped
growing.I only feed the sprouts once ,with fish,blood and bone in July
when I earth them up, put stakes in and firm the ground again.
What am I doing wrong?
Regards
Michael