when to havest sprouts

hi guys my 1st years gardening and I noticed my sprouts are big enough to pick but the top ones are not

when is it right to havest sprouts please?

Thanks in advance

 

am I the only one growing sprouts lol

 

Hiya @lowrider69
Although I haven`t grown any vegetables - at least not for years, I`m not totally sure, but seem to remember my dad saying it`s best after the first frosts. I`m sure the more experience folks on here will amend that if it`s wrong...

 

When they are big enough to eat. If you have enough for a meal I would pick them and use them. The ones further up will continue to develop, but the longer you leave the lower ones the more chance of them "blowing" and become loose leafy masses. As Tetters said they are supposed to be better after a frost.
When I was growing up they were very much a winter crop, however modern varieties have extended the growing season considerably.

 

ok will pick off all the big ones I never knew they bloomed

 

Generally picking or harvesting is considered as, 90-180 days after planting.Seed sowing often begins say in January under glass. Then the young plants are planted out. In sheltered areas, seed can be sown direct into open ground in September.

Usually when the sprouts look nice and plump, and just before they begin to burst open, is an indicator that they are ready. Naturally the larger ones will be lower down the stalk, so it remains the choice of the grower, whether to pick the complete stalk or to select the plumpest.

Yes sprouts do have that edge on flavour once they have caught the frost. This also appies to parsnips and other veg. The frost tends to actvate the natural sugars in the plant.

On the large farming scale. The whole stalk is cut down and machine processed, for the average gardener, as with the cabbage family, cut close to the ground. Soon the remaing stalk and roots will produce new shoots. These are useful as greens and in stir frys.

 

One of the worst jobs was picking frozen, wet brussel sprouts for Sunday lunch. Imagine a muddy field full of them on a January morning. Modern commercial hybrids have been bred so that the entire stalk can be harvested and stripped mechanically, so you don't have to go over the field several times.
We used to have brussel tops as spring greens after the brussels had been picked.

 

Fings ain`t wot they used to be eh Nige

 

I'm glad to say.