QUESTION: Why are my Brussels sprouts not forming? Do I need to fertilize my Brussels sprout plants? -Gerry C
ANSWER: Brussels sprouts need very fertile soil to perform well. Therefore, ample amounts of fertilizer applied one third before and two thirds after planting are needed for best results. Adding plenty of organic matter can replace half of the fertilizer requirements.
Brussels sprouts are much more tolerant of drought than some garden veggies but they do require moist soil in summer in order to produce optimal sprouts. Plants should also be allowed at least two feet of growing room between plants and rows, and allowing three feet between rows for easier access when harvesting. Brussels sprouts require watering every 14 days in dry spells, and need an even and consistently moist soil during their growing season, especially when developing sprouts.
If your plants are not producing many sprouts, you might want to look into a lack of nitrogen in your soil. The number of sprouts is directly dependent on the number of leaves that the plant produces. For plenty of leaves early sowing (late winter or early spring) is essential and careful planting into very fertile soil and careful attention to moisture levels in the soil will help immensely.
the nutrients are going into the leaves. i trimmed the top leaves off , but i’ve been told since to trim off the side leaves. After i trimmed off the top leaves the sprouts started forming.
bottom of stalk to pass middle of stalk trimmed off leaves but nothing but a bunch of bunched up leaves growing help/hungry for them.
My Brussels sprouts are tiny. There are a lot of them but only the size of a marble. What should I do?
Consume with butter?
Eat them!
Mine never formed at all, yet my soil has lots of compost. The leaves that formed are huge. Now the winter is past and the plants are flowering. I see some leaves forming in the joints. Will these become sprouts if I trim off the flower heads?
My plants are about 3 ft high and healthy looking. Not one sprout! I noticed yesterday that thete is the begining of flowers on the top on most of the plants. Do i cut off the tops to see if i then get sprouts forming or just lift and compost all the plants?
my plants have very large leaves buy I cannot see any sprouts forming can show picture if had the facility
The leaves are large and many if them but not a sign of sprouts. Should I trim leaves?
Well, I’m not alone in this brusselsless state.
You got that right. I have big healthy looking plants and no sprouts!
No sprouts for me either. We had a very rainy summer, and many days without sun. My understanding is that rain washes away nitrogen, so although I’d fertilized the soil I suspect I didn’t do so enough.
Same here. Huge leaves, but no sprouts yet. This is our first year trying brussel sprouts.
Is it too late now? Do we just pull out the huge plants? Or try cutting off some of the huge leaves?
No sprouts for me either here in Marlboro, Vt. Plants very healthy. Lots of stems. They had lots of room to grow. I’ve grown them successfully for at least 7 summers, so I think I know what I’m doing. Soil very rich in compost. No pests. The only thing different this summer is that we had TONS of rain. 18+ inches in July alone. So I think that is the culprit.
Mine here in Wilmington aren’t producing sprouts either. None last year either. Lots the year before!
Thanks for your input! All the same for me except for the rain part. We had a drought. We have drip irrigation so we can control the amount of water. I’m stumped. On the other hand our collards did amazing!
Mine look like they are trying but are the size of peas. Not sure if it is because we have had a mild fall up until now on the coast of Maine? I don’t know how long to wait for them. Hope a hard freeze isn’t coming any time soon. Wish we could post pics to compare what we are seeing/dealing with.
My plants are beautiful and green with lots of leaves but no Brussel sprouts growing. It has been months. We are in SE Louisiana and don’t have much problem with freezes. What am I doing wrong?
My Brussels won’t sprout only leaves
Same problem here in the UK. Plenty of big green leaves but no sprouts. Had a cold wet spring and VERY hot spell in the summer for us. Maybe it’s the seeds that are at fault?
Maybe it could be the seeds?
I do have some coming this growing season, but so slow.
And the weather was completely different than last summer.
I pinched off the tops toward the end of Aug as there were virtually no sprouts forming.
Now that I did that, I can see that the sprouts are forming. But with the cold weather upon us, I’m a little worried I will not be getting very many or very large ones. Fingers crossed!