[LottyLouis]

A few days ago I noticed my first little Brussel sprout forming.Today I see that it has quite a loose formation - not a tight little button. I Gurgled this and I read that it occurs when the weather is warm when the heads form. Is this right? I think it was around March that I started these off. Was I too late? Without a greenhouse, I don't see how I could have done it any earlier. I'm guessing there's nothing I can do. Will they be edible?   

[Dai]

As far as I'm aware brassicas don't like it warm, I've read that they die off if you sow them in a greenhouse so I don't think you were too late. I've also read that wind rock can make the sprouts blow (as in not form tightly) maby staking them would help?
I would have thought as it's the first sprout that you stand a good chance of saving the rest (hopefully) but you will have to wait for the more knowledgeable people to reply as I'm certainly no expert

[Goosegirl]

I always sow mine in a greenhouse in April then pot them on before planting out. I bang the soil hard down around the stems with my fists to firm them in, and also knock a stake in about 4-6" from them. As soon as it practical, I loosely tie the stem to the stake using garden twine in a "figure of eight" which allows the stem to thicken as it grows, then keep repeating the process until they are about 3 foot high. I do get loose buttons at the bottom but tighter ones form further up.

[LottyLouis]

Thanks for comments Goosegirl - but do you put in a stake for every one? Crikey. I'll need to fell a forest! I got my seeds from Realseeds and I specifically chose one that grows quite short - to, hopefully, avoid the need for stakes.
Hmmm...this gardening milarky addles your brain a bit.

[RJR_38]

I don't stake mine unless they start to grow a bit wonky but all my Brussels are in a large debris netting tunnel which helps to stop the wind etc as well so they stay more stable. I also walk in the ground a lot before/when planting the plants in the ground so it is really firm

[Comfreypatch]

I tried staking mine last year but they had already grown a bit and pulling the stems into the stakes damaged the roots and the sprouts died! So probably best not to stake if they are already growing up. This year I am not staking, the plants are in enviro mesh cages so hopefully they will support each other. They already have very tiny sprouts, about pea size.

[Snoop]

Most of my sprouts this year are Bronte, an early variety. I too stake them due to the strong winds we get in our valley. The sprouts are just starting to form, and they too look a little bit loose. You might be unlucky and have 'blown' sprouts due to wind rock but you might find that as they get bigger, they'll become a bit tighter, like an ordinary cabbage does when it hearts up.

Sprouts that are very loose might not look traditional, but there are varieties that are sprout and kale crosses that are intentionally loose (search for Posy sprouts on the Internet for an example). I presume people eat them, so they must be edible! If you don't like cooking or eating whole blown sprouts, you can of course finely shred them and stir fry them. Delicious with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled in.

[anchorman]

It might be worth checking various varieties for next years crop. Some are more prone than others. As ever I cant recall which ones but some F1 hybrids dont suffer. A couple of years back, my Bedfords started to blow late in the year.

The earlier posts are quite right. Firm them into pre trodden soil and stake to prevent wind rock; they dont tollerate that well. The root are not big so a stake about 9in away from the plant should be ok. They will also need plenty of water now they are growing rapidly. Also a feed will do them good at this stage. It will be worth checking your soil ph, it needs to be slightly alkaline. If its on the acidic side a top dressing of lime will liven them up (I use builders lime). Im no expert but it seems to work for me.

Stressing the sprout plants (lack of water or lime/nitrogen feed) will cause them to panic and try to produce seed by blowing the buttons and there is nothing worse than watching a cage full of sprouts panic. Awfull noise you know LOL! I hope this helps.