Open Pollinated Red Brussels Sprouts have been a goal of mine for the past few years. I have never grown the green Brussels Sprouts. I'm particularly interested in red colored vegetables due to their health benefits.
I have grown a variety of Red Brussels sprouts(Falstaff, Rubine, Red Ball/Bull) and here are my first buds for Fall 2012.They are extremely small, but they are forming. Brussels Sprouts are mainly grown in the Pacific Northwest due to their ideal climate. A lot of people are able to grow the green Brussels Sprouts, but the red ones are a bit more finicky. We had snow during the night.It was about 16 degrees this morning, and these red Brussels Sprouts are showing off their colors since they love the cold weather.
This is my late fall garden with mums, cosmos, marigolds, amaranth and Brussels Sprouts tucked in behind the amaranth + flowers. Next year I plan on putting my Brussels Sprouts out a bit earlier that way they won't be hidden by the flowers. You can't see them too well since the flowers engulfed them for most of the growing season.
Once the flowers died, and leaves fell Brussels Sprouts have the garden to themselves. I started this plant inside under lights mid summer, which was, too late since you can see this one is too small. I will need to get them in the ground a month earlier in 2013. It is all about timing with Brussels Sprouts. You want the sprouts to form in the cold weather. Cold weather causes the starches to convert to sugars. If they develop in warm weather, they will be bitter.They did hold up through the 2012 drought this past summer. I had them in my flower beds by late July, which was not, soon enough. I practice a 3-4 yr rotation which helps keep the pests down.
The leaves remind me of red cabbage leaves before they form the head.
To help the buds form you need to cut the leaves away so the energy of the plant will go into the formation of the sprouts. You can eat the leaves since they are just like Kale. I decided to put them in recipes that Kale would work. The secret is not to let the leaves get larger than 4 inches for cooking.
It was around 16 degrees last night and snowed a bit. They flourish in the cold!
I have never cooked with the leaves before. I took the stem out from the middle as I do with Kale and Swiss Chard. I just composted the stem back into the garden. I then cut the leaves very thinly.
I washed the leaves in apple cider vinegar.
I used my cast iron pan that has been in our family for many years. I love to cook with these pans since they never wear out and cook everything perfectly. A little olive oil and my cast iron pans create healthy meals!
I just sauteed them lightly in olive oil, added colorful vegetable pasta,grated cheese on top, soy sauce for flavor( which you don't have to add-just add what you like), and topped with sliced almonds. It was delicious! I have tried a variety of red leaved cruciferous vegetables the past few years. I don't have a lot of space. I found red cabbage is fun to grow and tasty but it takes up too much space in our potager . I will grow these again for winter eating. If the timing is just right,I will have leaves to eat and sprouts to eat.