Brassica Bothers &weather woes!

[Irish-Veg]

(this is probably going to turn into a rant)!

i know its my first year really trying to grow as much as I can, but the brassicas are a disaster.

I did sprouts back in april, i sewed 50 them in 7cm pots and they came up and got a few leaves, and then overnight started going yellowy and died. i think that was more overwatering than anything..

I then sewed cabbages/cauliflower in a large tub outside and they came up well, i kept in modules and planted out (even though they were showing little growth, they had 2 true leaves and were hardened off)

Im thinking i disturbed them too much tbh, they must have been moved 3 times before they even got their frst few leaves (dont worry- ive learned!)

I planted out a second lot of caulis a few weeks back and they were stronger, again all faded (bar 1) to nothing.

the second lot of brussels i sewed, they came up nicely, dad then walked all over them.

gonna have to take a trip to the garden centre i think!

Its strange though all the "hard/demanding" plants like tomatoes/chillis/peppers/cukes all thrived but then again thats because they have been out of the weather :s

the 3rd lot of peas i planted out has finally started to get going, the last 2 rotted even under cloches -_-

My plot (bar the nice flowering broad beans & strawberry plants) looks more like the middle of winter

so yup, gonna blame the weather! lol

[kathyd]

Ouch, I do know how you feel.. and so will lots of other people on here . I've had probs with brassicas too, but one thing that did work really well last year, and which you've still got time to plant, is sprouting broccoli! I'm sure there'll be ppl who'll be able to suggest why so many of your young plants have struggled. I guess you must really like sprouts too - 50 sprout plants seems a huge number! Lol

[Irish-Veg]

well it was my first thing i ever thought of sewing so i wasnt sure would they even all germinate haha but yeah we do, there's 4 of us

yeah i must do more brocolli too, last lot died -_-

im gonna put alot of focus into winter veg.

[WPG]

Blimey, 50 sprouts!! I think you've had a lucky escape there Irish Veg. I've just planted out 8 sprout plants - first time I've tried to grow them - and to be honest not sure if I'll bother next year. I planted them with the recommended 2 foot gap between plants and rows, so they take up a huge amount of space. Then they've been treated to lime, slug-gone, brassica collars, staking, netting, plus I had to put a windbreak round the bed as my plot is so exposed. I just hope they're worth all the trouble... guess I won't know for another 7 or 8 months.

[Nes]

I often struggle a bit with brassicas - slugs seem to love them more than lettuce! I always seem to have to sow far more than I need, and often more than once, to get the number of plants I want. Will say, last years brussels were fab, well worth the space and time! I was surprised how many sprouts we had off 4 plants (4 other plants hardly gave us anything though!).

[eirish]

Well, if you're sewing them rather than sowing them, that might be your problem.

I get the impression that brassicas are rather fiddly, actually.

[kathyd]

I agree eirish, brassicas do seem quite fiddly, plus they're big plants and most take ages to grow. However... I love my brassicas! And they're one of the staple winter veg, so I keep on trying! I'm drenching everything in stinky garlic solution this year to try to deter slugs - so far things looking promising! Wonder if garlic drenched strawberries taste of garlic...

[BUFFS]

we have been lucky with our brassica plants,wheelers imperials coming along fine and the black style (italian) kale is growing into nice plants,been on slug hunts for a few weeks now so it should be reasonably safe to put them out when the rain stops..we lifted the first crop of rhubarb on sunday and from the 13 crowns we got just over 49lbs of stems,now cooked lightly and into ice cream tubs in the freezer,nearly finished last years now,just a few tubs left,with some goosegogs,blackcurrants and wild strawbs but with lots of new plants, we will spend the summer stocking up,it seems this cooler weather has suited plants like the rhubarb...

[SarzWix]

Brassicas shouldn't be suffering from the cold, or from being transplanted - they're one of the few that really don't mind it. What they're not keen on is getting too hot, or being over-watered (most things don't like being over-watered really). I start all my brassicas off in cell/module-trays, a couple of seeds per cell/module, and just leave them in there until I'm ready to plant them out. I keep them indoors until more than half have germinated, and then shove them outside in the shade, not full sun. Keep the slugs off, plant out when there's room for them on the plot, but not before they get at least 2 true leaves.