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Connecticut Garden Journal
Connecticut Garden Journal is a weekly program hosted by horticulturalist Charlie Nardozzi. Each week, Charlie focuses on a topic relevant to both new and experienced gardeners, including pruning lilac bushes, growing blight-free tomatoes, groundcovers, sunflowers, bulbs, pests, and more.

Connecticut Garden Journal: Bravo for Brussels Sprouts

tracy benjamin
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Creative Commons
Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Brussels sprouts can produce right into winter.

The Grandpa Tucker poem below pretty much sums up how many people feel about Brussels sprouts.

Brussels sprouts, Brussels sprouts! Throw the nasty rascal out. Give us pizza, give us meat. Give us anything that’s sweet. In the evening how I hate to see you lying on my plate. You are green and round and wide, which makes you very hard to hide. And so, with milk, I wash you down. Even then, I gag and frown. Though you’re good for me, no doubt. A pox upon thee, O Brussels sprouts!

But I think Brussels sprouts are misunderstood and misused. They have, in fact, become the trendy vegetable at many finer restaurants. When cooked with the right ingredients such as cheese, raisins and nuts, they taste amazing.

The key is to harvest Brussels sprouts now after the cold has turned them from little cabbages to sweet, delectable orbs.

Brussels sprout cultivation dates back to the Romans, but they became popular in Europe, and especially Brussels, in the 1600s.

They’re simple to grow. Plant seedlings of green or red varieties when you would broccoli, in well-drained, compost amended soil. Side-dress monthly with an organic fertilizer and keep the cabbageworms from shredding their leaves by spraying Bacillus thuringiensis.

Credit John Morgan flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/2878331966 / Creative Commons
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Creative Commons
Brussels sprouts.

By September you should have three-foot-tall plants with round sprouts forming along the stem. If the sprouts are slow to form, simply cut off the top of the plant so it sends more energy into forming sprouts and less into new growth.

Brussels sprouts can produce right into winter. I've even harvested frozen Brussels sprouts off plants in January and they tasted fine.

Next week I’ll be talking about composting. Until then, I’ll be seeing you in the garden.

Charlie Nardozzi is a regional Emmy® Award winning garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. He has worked for more than 30 years bringing expert information to home gardeners.

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