[titch]

I have got a lot of sprouts  i do love them and the taste of fresh far surpasses the ones i have ever bought.

how long can i leave them in the ground?  the plants look healthy, are they frost proof or should i get them in before
if so how should i store them?
thanks

[yorky]

Hi titch,
Don't even think about bringing them in. Sprouts are one of the plants that taste better after a good frost. In the days when we used to get proper winters I have gone out with a spade to clear the snow so that I could pick some for Sunday dinner.

[Roll Roll]

I don't even consider picking mine until they have seen a good frost. I find it sharpens the taste.

[bigginge]

Will it be OK to leave some for Christmas?

[Roll Roll]

Definitaly.
I pick mine from the bottom up first. Come Christmas the ones at the top should be big enough to pick.

[titch]

thanks for the info - i have been picking from the bottom up - so glad i can just leave them there - got a serious amount (around 10 plants, only two of us eat them in the house  :blink: ) and want them as fresh as possible

didnt know frost made them taste even better - soemthing to look forward to when it gets frosty 

i love to chuck them in soup too - totally underated veg in my opinion - funny i hated them as a child  , but always had to eat one at my nanny's house - guess they grew on me
i am now trying to convert the world to this humble veg delight

[Roll Roll]

Sssssssssssssshush, lets keep it our little secret.

[peterjf]

make sure after you picked them , prepare them in english way , 3/4 boil , allow to run dry, re water and boil a further 20 minutes, place next to the turkey and watch everyones face ,

[bonfire]

Why stop at an extra 20 minutes?

If you do them for another half hour you can pour them onto the plate!

[Kristen]

There are Early, Mid, Late ... varieties of Sprouts.  But I've never bothered with that, I just grow a dozen or so plants and pick from late Autumn until there aren't any more - which for me is around late Spring.  Of course if you have too-many-mouths-to-feed you will run out, but that apart the plants don't grow very quickly in the Winter, so won't "go over", and thus  will be available for harvesting over a long period ... "in My Experience"