I have been growing brussel sprouts on my allotment for more than 40 years,and indeed for the last 20 years on the same spot.I went to a talk by a secretary of the national vegetable growers society some years ago and he said that he had grown brussels in the same spot for yesrs.He said that the important things are
(i) pot on the seedlings finally into at least a 5" pot so as to get a good rootball
(ii) lime the soil heavily in January
(iii) put a trowelful of lime into the planting hole and plant by end of May
(iv)firm in the plants all round with your heel
(v) water in well
(vi) put some collars round the stem
(vii)put a little Derris around the stem.

Then water until established and then feed with chicken manure pellets or fish,blood and bone just once and earth up around the stems.

Well,I have been following this procedure for many years,and it has been reasonably successful.However,every year and independent of the weather,I always have about 20% of the plants which do not fully grow or succumb to cabbage root fly-very few get club root.In particular I have found it difficult to get reliable results from the cultivar Wellington F1,which in my view produces sprouts with superb nutty flavour.My brussel sprouts have generally been the envy of fellow plotholders who get poor plants for one reason or another.

This year I have tried one more thing on about 30 Wellington F1 plants.At the time of planting and after carrying out the above procedure,I have placed an upturned 8" pot with the bottom cut off (rather like a smaller version of the type of ring used to plant greenhouse tomatoes,but empty in this case).
The theory behind it is to stop wind rock on young brussel seedlings,and so minimising the chance of a hole developing for cabbage root fly to get in and lay its eggs-also it provides a slightly warmer environments for the seedlings to get established,although the former is in my view the most important.

Well the results have been almost unbelievable.Every,and I mean every,plant is thriving and they are all of almost the same height.The plants are now 3-4 feet tall,and the rings seem to provide some support- I usually stake them by now.
Tiny sprouts are beginning to form and I am hopeful of a magnificent crop.
Some say it might be the season,but many of our ploholders are having the traditional problems as usual.So I am pretty convinced that the open rings-which is the only different thing I have done-are the reason for these very healthy plants.

Michael

On 31/08/2012 12:08, michael wrote:
I have been growing brussel sprouts on my allotment for more than 40 years,and indeed for the last 20 years on the same spot.I went to a talk by a secretary of the national vegetable growers society some years ago and he said that he had grown brussels in the same spot for yesrs.He said that the important things are
(i) pot on the seedlings finally into at least a 5" pot so as to get a good rootball
(ii) lime the soil heavily in January
(iii) put a trowelful of lime into the planting hole and plant by end of May
(iv)firm in the plants all round with your heel
(v) water in well
(vi) put some collars round the stem
(vii)put a little Derris around the stem.

Then water until established and then feed with chicken manure pellets or fish,blood and bone just once and earth up around the stems.

Well,I have been following this procedure for many years,and it has been reasonably successful.However,every year and independent of the weather,I always have about 20% of the plants which do not fully grow or succumb to cabbage root fly-very few get club root.In particular I have found it difficult to get reliable results from the cultivar Wellington F1,which in my view produces sprouts with superb nutty flavour.My brussel sprouts have generally been the envy of fellow plotholders who get poor plants for one reason or another.

This year I have tried one more thing on about 30 Wellington F1 plants.At the time of planting and after carrying out the above procedure,I have placed an upturned 8" pot with the bottom cut off (rather like a smaller version of the type of ring used to plant greenhouse tomatoes,but empty in this case).
The theory behind it is to stop wind rock on young brussel seedlings,and so minimising the chance of a hole developing for cabbage root fly to get in and lay its eggs-also it provides a slightly warmer environments for the seedlings to get established,although the former is in my view the most important.

Well the results have been almost unbelievable.Every,and I mean every,plant is thriving and they are all of almost the same height.The plants are now 3-4 feet tall,and the rings seem to provide some support- I usually stake them by now.
Tiny sprouts are beginning to form and I am hopeful of a magnificent crop.
Some say it might be the season,but many of our ploholders are having the traditional problems as usual.So I am pretty convinced that the open rings-which is the only different thing I have done-are the reason for these very healthy plants.

Michael

Thanks for that Michael, good to know, will try that next year.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

michael wrote in
:

I have been growing brussel sprouts on my allotment for more than 40
years,and indeed for the last 20 years on the same spot.I went to a
talk by a secretary of the national vegetable growers society some
years ago and he said that he had grown brussels in the same spot for
yesrs.He said that the important things are (i) pot on the seedlings
finally into at least a 5" pot so as to get a good rootball (ii) lime
the soil heavily in January (iii) put a trowelful of lime into the
planting hole and plant by end of May (iv)firm in the plants all round
with your heel (v) water in well
(vi) put some collars round the stem
(vii)put a little Derris around the stem.

Then water until established and then feed with chicken manure pellets
or fish,blood and bone just once and earth up around the stems.

Well,I have been following this procedure for many years,and it has
been reasonably successful.However,every year and independent of the
weather,I always have about 20% of the plants which do not fully grow
or succumb to cabbage root fly-very few get club root.In particular I
have found it difficult to get reliable results from the cultivar
Wellington F1,which in my view produces sprouts with superb nutty
flavour.My brussel sprouts have generally been the envy of fellow
plotholders who get poor plants for one reason or another.

This year I have tried one more thing on about 30 Wellington F1
plants.At the time of planting and after carrying out the above
procedure,I have placed an upturned 8" pot with the bottom cut off
(rather like a smaller version of the type of ring used to plant
greenhouse tomatoes,but empty in this case). The theory behind it is
to stop wind rock on young brussel seedlings,and so minimising the
chance of a hole developing for cabbage root fly to get in and lay its
eggs-also it provides a slightly warmer environments for the seedlings
to get established,although the former is in my view the most
important.

Well the results have been almost unbelievable.Every,and I mean
every,plant is thriving and they are all of almost the same height.The
plants are now 3-4 feet tall,and the rings seem to provide some
support- I usually stake them by now. Tiny sprouts are beginning to
form and I am hopeful of a magnificent crop. Some say it might be the
season,but many of our ploholders are having the traditional problems
as usual.So I am pretty convinced that the open rings-which is the
only different thing I have done-are the reason for these very healthy
plants.

Michael

Thankyou, Michael.
I wonder if you would give me a few details on how you deal with
whitefly. Do you have whitefly? I do and it devestates all of mine.

Baz

"Baz" wrote ...

michael wrote in


I have been growing brussel sprouts on my allotment for more than 40
years,and indeed for the last 20 years on the same spot.I went to a
talk by a secretary of the national vegetable growers society some
years ago and he said that he had grown brussels in the same spot for
yesrs.He said that the important things are (i) pot on the seedlings
finally into at least a 5" pot so as to get a good rootball (ii) lime
the soil heavily in January (iii) put a trowelful of lime into the
planting hole and plant by end of May (iv)firm in the plants all round
with your heel (v) water in well
(vi) put some collars round the stem
(vii)put a little Derris around the stem.

Then water until established and then feed with chicken manure pellets
or fish,blood and bone just once and earth up around the stems.

Well,I have been following this procedure for many years,and it has
been reasonably successful.However,every year and independent of the
weather,I always have about 20% of the plants which do not fully grow
or succumb to cabbage root fly-very few get club root.In particular I
have found it difficult to get reliable results from the cultivar
Wellington F1,which in my view produces sprouts with superb nutty
flavour.My brussel sprouts have generally been the envy of fellow
plotholders who get poor plants for one reason or another.

This year I have tried one more thing on about 30 Wellington F1
plants.At the time of planting and after carrying out the above
procedure,I have placed an upturned 8" pot with the bottom cut off
(rather like a smaller version of the type of ring used to plant
greenhouse tomatoes,but empty in this case). The theory behind it is
to stop wind rock on young brussel seedlings,and so minimising the
chance of a hole developing for cabbage root fly to get in and lay its
eggs-also it provides a slightly warmer environments for the seedlings
to get established,although the former is in my view the most
important.

Well the results have been almost unbelievable.Every,and I mean
every,plant is thriving and they are all of almost the same height.The
plants are now 3-4 feet tall,and the rings seem to provide some
support- I usually stake them by now. Tiny sprouts are beginning to
form and I am hopeful of a magnificent crop. Some say it might be the
season,but many of our ploholders are having the traditional problems
as usual.So I am pretty convinced that the open rings-which is the
only different thing I have done-are the reason for these very healthy
plants.

Michael

Thankyou, Michael.
I wonder if you would give me a few details on how you deal with
whitefly. Do you have whitefly? I do and it devestates all of mine.


I also have had constant problems with White Fly on sprouts but last year I
sprayed them with some ordinary liquid soap I happened to have spare (unused
present) and it cured the problem. That soap is now in my garden chemical
box.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

"Bob Hobden" wrote in
:


Thankyou, Michael.
I wonder if you would give me a few details on how you deal with
whitefly. Do you have whitefly? I do and it devestates all of mine.


I also have had constant problems with White Fly on sprouts but last
year I sprayed them with some ordinary liquid soap I happened to have
spare (unused present) and it cured the problem. That soap is now in
my garden chemical box.

Thanks, Bob,
Do you spray them before the whitefly attack, or as and when you see
the whitefly? How often do you spray?

Baz

"Bob Hobden" wrote
"Baz" wrote ...
Thankyou, Michael.
I wonder if you would give me a few details on how you deal with
whitefly. Do you have whitefly? I do and it devestates all of mine.

I also have had constant problems with White Fly on sprouts but last
year I sprayed them with some ordinary liquid soap I happened to have
spare (unused present) and it cured the problem. That soap is now in
my garden chemical box.

I also find whitefly a problem on sage growing next to the patio. It's
in a corner bed, so doesn't get so much breeze which I don't suppose
helps. I wonder if soapy spray would work on that?

We don't grow sprouts but white fly is always a nuisance on my broccoli
too. Think I'll try this remedy and also Michael's method of the
upturned pot rings for next year as I've lost two of my few plants to
CRF. The others have survived so far with some extra earthing up.

--
Sue


..

"Baz" wrote

"Bob Hobden" wrote in



Thankyou, Michael.
I wonder if you would give me a few details on how you deal with
whitefly. Do you have whitefly? I do and it devestates all of mine.


I also have had constant problems with White Fly on sprouts but last
year I sprayed them with some ordinary liquid soap I happened to have
spare (unused present) and it cured the problem. That soap is now in
my garden chemical box.

Thanks, Bob,
Do you spray them before the whitefly attack, or as and when you see
the whitefly? How often do you spray?


The boss told me to spray as soon as she saw White Fly and I only did it
once, thoroughly, and didn't have a problem thereafter. I would think
washing up liquid might work too.
We also didn't get those horrid grey aphids in the sprouts like we do some
years.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

Bob Hobden wrote:
The boss told me to spray as soon as she saw White Fly and I only did it
once, thoroughly, and didn't have a problem thereafter. I would think
washing up liquid might work too.

We are having a terrible time in the greenhouses with whitefly this year, never
had such a problem before. It's got to the point where I can't breathe when I
am in there cos I choke!

Been chopping back the blighted tomatoes today. :-(
Looks like the minibels are doing worse than anything apart from the big Italian
ones, probably cos they are low down, so the blightyness falls on them.

Vicky wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:
The boss told me to spray as soon as she saw White Fly and I only did it
once, thoroughly, and didn't have a problem thereafter. I would think
washing up liquid might work too.

We are having a terrible time in the greenhouses with whitefly this year,
never
had such a problem before. It's got to the point where I can't breathe
when I
am in there cos I choke!

Been chopping back the blighted tomatoes today. :-(
Looks like the minibels are doing worse than anything apart from the big
Italian
ones, probably cos they are low down, so the blightyness falls on them.

No white fly in our greenhouse but suddenly like someone waved a wand
everything seems to have Red Spider Mite, the banana looks terrible as does
the hibiscus, sprayed today and can only hope it's cured.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK