A question for Brussel Sprout growers

[Devil's advocate]

Righto. So spacings.

With my planter setup I can to 2 rows 32 inch between them or 3 rows 16inch between them.

Is it better to do 2 rows with a closer in-row spacing, or 3 rows with bigger in-row spacing?


I'm considering buying an old harvester so I can strip buttons off. Whole stem is too much of a limited market for me and in not putting my fingers through a winter stripping them by hand.

Ideally I'd buy a static unit, but I'll consider buying an old trailed and making a static machine out of it. So stripping heads, are 4 bladed ones fine?

You only need Tesco rubber gloves & milking sleeves u pto 10 acre or so.

 

[Stuart J]

I presume you are seeing tipburn in the sprouts - that is the only significant calcium related disorder?

CAN just adds chalk which, being insoluble, is useless to you, being a mix of chalk and ammonium nitrate.

Calcium is seldom is ever deficient in UK soils but it can be in deficit where transpiration flow is weak due to dry soils, soil compaction, humid conditions and salty soils. Leaves are better at attracting limited calcium than buttons leading to tipburn. I have never heard of foliar sprays of calcium nitrate for sprouts (I presume you would have to use a drop leg sprayer) - it is usually more effective to amend any soil or moisture supply problems.

However, Yara have this to say and offer a boronated calcium nitrate fertiliser that might have some effect: https://www.yara.co.uk/crop-nutrition/vegetable-brassicas/preventing-tipburn-in-brassicas/

Ok.....so bit of a dense moment.

It's not Calcium, its Copper.

 

[Stuart J]

You only need Tesco rubber gloves & milking sleeves u pto 10 acre or so.

I don't have time for that carry on.

 

[Stuart J]

Ok.....so bit of a dense moment.

It's not Calcium, its Copper.

Guess something like this would do the job.

I'm low in Manganese anyway.

 

[Kidds]

You can get straight forward copper for foliar application

 

[Devil's advocate]

You can get straight forward copper for foliar application

I use Manganese copper mix on barley never used it on leaf brassica, maybe I should?

Brand name "Brock"

 

[Bogweevil]

Blimey, that is unusual - have you done leaf analysis, or better, soil analysis?

Copper oxychloride is the usual remedy, FMC copper d for example: https://fmc-agro.co.uk/crop-nutrition/copper

 

[Oldmacdonald]

@david would you include oil in with the sprout fungicides? Plover and signum for example.

 

[Bigjon44]

How are people's Brussels looking??

 

[Chrismc530]

How are people's Brussels looking??

Short, lack of sun light and mountains of rain has been a disaster here

 

[Oldmacdonald]

How are people's Brussels looking??

Bit short yet, but otherwise fairly healthy looking.

Aiming mainly for Christmas, so dont think I'm too worried yet about height.

 

[Bigjon44]

Yeah mine don't look as tall as they normally are this time of year.look nice and clean tho at minute

 

[Chrismc530]

Yeah mine don't look as tall as they normally are this time of year.look nice and clean tho at minute View attachment 1129754

What breed are they ? Do you not leave pads for spraying ?

 

[Bigjon44]

Doric
What do you mean pads for spraying?

 

[Devil's advocate]

Anyone else struggling with fungicide programme?

Crop looks well some varieties have some slug damage at the base of the plant.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Doric
What do you mean pads for spraying?

Tramlines, you must have very skinny tyres, wide boom or a drone

I plant white cabbage in the trams, need harvesting now the few that are left, heads fallen into the tramline, sprouts also grown bent straight into the tramline so need a row picking either side of tramline.

 

[S.Jamieson]

Anyone else struggling with fungicide programme?

Crop looks well some varieties have some slug damage at the base of the plant.

Struggled to get regular fungicides on during constant wet weather.

Altarnaria in Marte, but mostly used by now. Before disease came in, Marte was giving excellent sprouts.

Petrus and Brodie look clean, but short.


Just half an acre total.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Prices heading upwards.

Customer volunteered a price increase to tenner a net.

He say £14 a net in the market this week. Early reports of Lincs crops rotting from the bottom of the plant.

Last year was very disappointing for me on sprouts, so far this year is a cracker.

 

[Luke20]

Prices heading upwards.

Customer volunteered a price increase to tenner a net.

He say £14 a net in the market this week. Early reports of Lincs crops rotting from the bottom of the plant.

Last year was very disappointing for me on sprouts, so far this year is a cracker.

What's in a net? 9kg? good demand for sprouts this year? th clements soon cleared a 13 ac field in a few days near us this week

 

[Devil's advocate]

Yes 9kg, I still weigh 20 Ib no one complains, in fact usually guess.

Clements do grow a hell of a lot, they were on the radio saying sprouts would be smaller this year because they were chucking the bottom of the plants away.

Self promotion is a huge talent of Clements, great logistics too.