Category Archives: Brussels Sprouts

Late November Garden Still Producing, First Snow

The late November garden is still producing, but it is definitely getting colder now. Central Indiana had its first measurable snow of the fall season on November 21st, about 2.5 inches of wet snow, after having been near 70 degrees two days before that!! I had the cabbage, kohlrabi, and the two last remaining cauliflower plants covered with row covers, and they did fine (see pics below). The carrots and lettuce continue to be covered with plastic covered hoops. Despite the weather, I have continued to harvest cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower. I have probably harvested the last of the lettuce for this year. I will let most of the smaller lettuce seedlings that self-seeded this fall continue to grow all winter under the hoop (although some will probably not make it to spring). The carrots are probably ready to harvest, but I will not start harvesting them for another few weeks. I harvested all of the brussels sprouts that I could over the last few days. The crop this year was very poor, due to all of the insect pressure. Despite the cold, aphids continue to be a major issue on the brussels sprouts this fall. I have never seen aphids this bad in the garden before. They have even started to spread to the remaining cabbage, kohlrabi, and cauliflower plants. All of The broccoli has been harvested and I opened up that part of the bed to let my chickens feast on the remaining plants (see pic below). Right before the snow, on November 20th, I picked the last of the jalapeno and banana peppers, which is the latest I have ever picked peppers! I was even able to harvest some Red Norland potatoes yesterday (see pic below). These were left over volunteer potatoes that came up from the spring cop. The top-setting onions I planted in late October have now started to shoot up green shoots. The weather forecast for the next two weeks is for cold temperatures (with lows under 20 degrees). With all of that cold predicted, I will be harvesting all of the remaining cabbage, kohlrabi, and cauliflower in the next few days, so my refrigerators should be packed full of produce. Time to make some coleslaw and sauerkraut. Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Cabbage Under the Snow Covered Row Cover, Picture Taken 11-21-24

Snow Covered Garden With Cabbage and Kohlrabi (Foreground) Under Row Covers, Picture Taken 11-21-24

Two Cauliflower Plants Under Snow Covered Row Covers, Picture Taken 11-21-24

One Jalapeno and One Banana Pepper Plant Covered With Snow, Picture Taken 11-21-24

Volunteer Red Norland Potatoes Harvest, Picture Taken 11-26-24

Chickens Feasting on the Leftover Broccoli Plants, Picture Taken 11-13-24

Late October Garden Still Producing, First Frost/Freeze

The fall garden is still producing lots of good home grown produce. The garden experienced its first frost and freeze on October 17th, which, in my opinion, is about the normal date for Central Indiana. The temperatures dropped below freezing for several hours, but no major damage was observed in the garden, with the exception of the bush green beans, which were not covered. That was okay, because I had harvested all the beans from the plants prior to that. I did cover all of the cole crops with row covers prior to the frost/freeze, and they did just fine. I also covered the lettuce and carrots with plastic covered hoops. There were several more frosty mornings that followed the first one, so I kept them all covered until it warmed up again. I harvested the first kohlrabi on October 23rd, with many more to come. I will be harvesting the first of the cabbage very soon. The peppers made it through the cold, and I have recently harvested what I think is the last of them as the plants have just about stopped growing. Harvest continues on the broccoli, with just a few more heads to harvest, although there are many side shoots starting to grow. The cauliflower heads are just starting to get some size, but they are not quite ready to harvest as of yet. Harvest has slowed considerably on the late planted lettuce, but I was able to harvest enough for a small bag. The brussels spouts continue to get bigger, but harvest on them won’t start up for another few weeks. The weather continues to be very dry, so I had to water a few of the plots with still actively growing plants in them. Over the past week I have removed my bush and pole green beans. Over the next week, I will be removing most of the remaining pepper and tomato plants.

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Four Heads of Broccoli Awaiting Harvest, Picture Taken 10/15/24

Cabbage, Broccoli (already harvested), and one Cauliflower Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 10/23/24. Note Volunteer Potato Vines Growing

Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing Nicely in the Spring Planted Corn Plot, Picture Taken 10/23/24

Another View of the Old Corn Plot with Fall Crops Growing, Picture Taken 10/23/24

The First Fall Kohlrabi Harvested, Picture Taken 10/23/24

Early October Garden Update, Still Dry, Harlequin Bugs

The fall garden continues to grow well, but it is still very dry. The garden did receive about 1.7 inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Helene about 10 days ago, but it has since turned very dry and the garden had to be watered again yesterday. The first harvest of fall broccoli took place on October 5th. The two heads were a little bit smaller than I would like to see, but they were still very tasty. There are many more heads of broccoli in the garden that should be maturing over the next 2 to 4 weeks. Harvest continues on the late planted bush green beans, but this planting looks like to be about finished out. There are still some pole green beans that are getting to harvestable size. The peppers continue to produce, although the cooler temperatures have slowed their growth. Lettuce has also been harvested several times over the last few weeks. The kohlrabi, cabbage, and cauliflower plants continue to grow well.

Harlequin bugs have become an issue, mainly on the brussels sprouts, but they are starting to move to my nearby broccoli and cauliflower plants. This is the first time I have seen these bugs since I have been gardening in Indianapolis (about 30 years now). They are quite the nuisance bug, which attack mostly cruciferous crops. Apparently, they have been gradually spreading north over the years and now have found their way to Central Indiana The best way to control these bugs, at least for me, has been to hand pick them off the plants. They have done some moderate damage to my brussels sprouts, but mostly on the leaves and not to the forming sprouts, as far as I can tell. Here are some interesting links about the harlequin bug:
https://extension.psu.edu/invasive-insect-harlequin-bug, https://www.gardenia.net/pest/harlequin-bug

Two Broccoli Heads Awaiting Harvest, Picture Taken 10-5-24

Cabbage (Lower) and Broccoli and Cauliflower (Top), Picture Taken 10-5-24

More Cauliflower Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 10-5-24

Brussels Sprouts (Left) and Broccoli (Right). Notice the Brown Leaves on the Sprouts, Which is Damage From the Harlequin Bugs, Picture Taken 10-5-24

Nice Overall Picture of Half of the Garden, Picture Taken 10-5-24

Fall Garden Growing Well Despite Desert Dryness

My fall garden continues to grow well despite the desert dryness and the above normal temperatures. Central Indiana is now in moderate drought, with not much relief in sight for the foreseeable future. As long as the garden gets watered once a week, I think it will continue to do well. The August planted broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi plants continue to get bigger and they appear to be on schedule for a mid-October through November harvest window. The mid-July sown carrots continue to grow nicely. Over the past few weeks I have been harvesting green beans, lettuce, hot banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, poblano peppers, and just a few tomatoes. The last of the celery was harvested yesterday. This is the first time I have grown Tabasco pepper, which is just now starting to produce little red mature peppers. The plants are really tall (about 4 foot high) with many green peppers still on the plant (see pic below). I probably will not grow this pepper again next year. It is an open pollinated pepper, so I will save some of the seeds in case I decide to grow it again in the future. I really like the Super Chili hybrid pepper, but the seeds have gotten really expensive, and I decided to try Tabasco this year. I think I found a non-hybrid open pollinated replacement for Super Chili called Matchbox, which I will definitely be growing next year.

Huge Tabasco Pepper Plants, Picture Taken 9-17-24

Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Broccoli. Picture Taken 9-17-24

Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, and Broccoli (Bottom Bed) Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts (Top Bed). Picture Taken 9-17-24

Early September Garden Growing Well, Finally Received Some Rain

Sorry for not posting recently, I have been very busy over the last month. The garden has been growing pretty well, despite the very dry conditions. The garden did receive some much needed rain over the last few days. Before that, the garden was being watered well about every week. The early August planted seedlings of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, and lettuce are growing nicely now. The mid-spring planted brussels sprouts (variety Jade Cross) suffered badly from lack of water (due to gardener neglect), but they have now rebounded nicely, with many medium sized sprouts observed on most of the plants. They also had a pretty severe infestation of white flies and aphids, which, I think, has been rectified with a few applications of insecticidal soap. I sowed a few small rows of lettuce seeds in mid-July and they have grown well. I did have to keep them well watered and covered with shade netting during the real hot days, which helped them quit a bit. I have been harvesting some lettuce from this planting over the last few weeks now. The July sown green beans are doing well and harvest will begin on one of the plots today. The other bean plot is a few weeks behind the other, but the beans are starting to flower now, so it will not be long before harvest begins on those. I am hopeful to have enough green beans to pressure can another 5 or 6 quarts. Despite the early blight on the Roma tomatoes, the plants produced enough for me to can 6 quarts of tomatoes and make some salsa. I still have a few tomatoes on the plants to enjoy fresh on salads. The celery is still producing a small harvest, despite the celery plants experiencing celery anthracnose disease. The jalapeno and the hot banana peppers are still producing nicely. I have also been able to harvest a decent amount of ancho poblano peppers over the last month. The July sown Scarlet Nantes carrots are staring to get bigger. Since the weather has cooled a bit, I might sow some radish seeds within the next few days. It is hard to believe, but the average first frost for Central Indiana is only about 5 or 6 weeks away.

August Planted Broccoli (right) and Brussels Sprouts (left), Picture Taken 9-2-24

Mid August Planted Seedlings of Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing Nicely in Bed That Had Spring Planted Corn, Picture Taken 9-2-24

Early August Planted Seedlings of Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing in Bed That Had Spring Planted Potatoes, Picture Taken 9-2-24

Two Early August Planted Cauliflower Seedlings Growing in Bed That Had Spring Planted Potatoes, Picture Taken 9-2-24

July Sown Carrots Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 9-2-24

Spring Garden Fully Planted, Soil Still Too Wet

The spring garden has been fully planted, but the soil remains a little too wet. The tomatoes and pepper seedlings have struggled a bit but are starting to look a bit better now with the onset of warmer weather. It has been a struggle this spring, especially with the warm season plants. I had to replant some of the beans because of the wet soil and I waited probably an extra two weeks to sow my cucumber seeds. Fortunately, the weather has improved somewhat and the hope is all of the wet soil conditions have passed. Harvest continues on the lettuce with more to come. I have noticed that the slugs have almost disappeared on the lettuce. The Packman broccoli are starting to form little heads, so I think broccoli harvest will probably start in about another two weeks. I have just started to noticed some minor damage from cabbage worms, so I will probably need to apply some Spinosad on these plants soon. The Silver Queen white sweet corn has germinated and most of the plants are nearing one foot tall. I harvested the last of the green onions about five days ago. The rest of the onions look pretty good so far. The potatoes growing in the grow bags have finally started to grow, and in fact look really good right now. The potatoes growing in the two raised beds do not look as good, but I remain optimistic that the harvest from these beds will turn out decent this year. I have had to start watering the potatoes in the grow bags every other day, which is normal. I have posted several pictures of my garden below for your viewing pleasure.

If you have any questions or comments, please fell free to send me an email at:
tim@timssquarefootgarden.com

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Top Left Clockwise: Diva Cucumbers, Early Jalapeno and Hot Banana Peppers, Bush Green Beans, and Roma Tomatoes, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Potatoes Growing in One of the Two Raised Beds, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Potatoes Growing Nicely in Grow Bags, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Onions (Red Candy Apple and Candy) with some Topsetting Onions Near Top of Picture, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Lettuce Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Silver Queen White Corn Getting Taller Every Day, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Left to Right: Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, and Cabbage, Picture Taken 6-4-24

Left to Right Clockwise: Kohlrabi, Ancho Peppers, Bush Green Beans, Rattlesnake Pole Beans, and More Kohlrabi. Looks Like Someone Needs to do Some Weeding! Picture Taken 6-4-24

Peas, Potatoes, Lettuce and Cole Crop Seedlings Planted, Total Solar Eclipse

Garden activity is really starting to ramp up. Pea seeds (Green Arrow) were planted out into the garden around the third week of March and have since germinated. These were the saved pea seeds from last year’s crop and almost every pea seed germinated, which is great. Lettuce seedlings were transplanted out into the garden under the plastic covered hoop on April 9th. The following number of seedlings were transplanted out into the garden on April 18th: 17 broccoli, 6 cabbage, and 6 kohlrabi. Brussels sprout seedlings will be transplanted out in about another week. Seed potatoes (Red Norland and Superior) were planted out into the two raised beds and various grow bags in the first week of April. Some of these have started to emerge from the soil.

Harvest of the first of the green onions (the top setting onions that were planted last fall) started on April 8th, with more to come. Harvest of the overwintered lettuce (Sierra) started on April 9th. Harvest of the early March seeded radishes (started under a plastic covered hoop next to the overwintered lettuce) began on April 17th with more to come.

All of the pepper and tomatoes seedlings were transplanted into larger pots about one week ago. They are still in the cold frame and will remain there until they are ready to be planted out into the garden, probably by the 2nd week of May.

The weather and the garden has finally started to warm up and dry out since the garden received over 3 inches of rain in a short 24-hour period about two weeks ago. Before then it had been very dry.

The total solar eclipse that took place here in Indianapolis on April 8th was awesome. The one thing that surprised me the most was how dark it was during the approximately 4 minutes of the total eclipse. I have experienced at least 2 partial solar eclipse in the past and those were pretty interesting, but nothing like this. The time leading up to totality was interesting as well. The best way to describe it was that it looked like the sun was filtered, and you could feel the lack of warmth of the sun on your skin during the hour or so leading up to totality. The speed that it went from light to total darkness also surprised me, it was in a matter of a few seconds. Being a weather geek, I was also surprised by the drop in temperature. I heard that temperatures dropped around 10 degrees during totality, which I would believe. I was also interested to see how my chickens would react to the eclipse. They had been free ranging in the back yard for a few hours before totality. During the time leading up to totality they seem unaffected, but when totality started (total darkness) they started to make their way to the coop, but did not actually go in. I do have a light in the coop, which stays on most of the day, which probably confused them a little as well (see picture below). After totality, when it started to get light again, they went about their business like nothing happened. This was truly a once in a lifetime event that I will probably not experience again.

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(From Bottom to Top) Peas Emerging from the Soil, with Green Onion and Some Potatoes Starting to Poke Up Through the Soil in the Raised Bed. Picture Taken 4-20-24

(Left to Right Clockwise) Cabbage and Broccoli Seedlings, Radish, Overwintered Lettuce, and Green Onions, Picture Taken 4-20-24

Fall Planted Top Setting Onions and March Planted Onion Transplants are Growing Nicely. April Transplanted Lettuce Seedlings are Getting Bigger Growing Under the Protective Hoop, Picture Taken 4-20-24

A Peak Inside the Hoop Showing the Spring Planted Lettuce Seedlings, Picture Taken 4-20-24

Onions Planted and Some Seedlings in Cold Frame

Spring planting is really starting to to ramp up now. I planted 182 onion transplants out into the garden on March 12th (varieties Candy and Red Candy Apple). This was a little earlier than normal, but all transplants are doing well, despite some really cold mornings in the middle 20’s. I covered all of these onions with some row covers for a few of those cold mornings, and they made it through with no issues. I was able to side dress the onions with some good organic fertilizer a few days ago. I also seeded the Green Arrow peas out into the garden a few days ago. I ended up with many more onion seedlings than I had room for, so most of them were planted out in another spot in the garden as green onions. The overwintered top setting/walking onions are really starting to grow now, so it won’t be long before harvest begins on those for green onions (see pic below). The late winter/early spring weather here in Central Indiana has been drier than normal, which I prefer as it allows me to work in the garden without all of the mud. I hope to be able to transplant my lettuce seedlings out into the garden by mid to late next week (approximately April 4-5), making sure to cover them with a plastic covered hoop. My overwintered lettuce, at least the plants that survived the winter, are doing reasonably well under the plastic covered hoop. I also was able to plant some more top setting onions and 2 small rows of radishes in this same hoop. They have since starting to grow now (see pic below). New boards for the two 4’x4′ potato raised beds were installed about a week ago, which turned out better than I expected. I will be planting out my Red Norland seed potatoes out into these beds, as well as in grow bags, in another few days. I am trying a new potato variety this year called Superior. It is a fast maturing white potato, so it should mature about the same time as the Red Norlands. I have moved all of my broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, and brussels sprout seedlings out into the cold frame. I have also moved my tomato and some of my pepper seedlings out into the cold frame. I plan to move the rest of my seedlings from under the indoor grow lights and out into the cold frame over the next few days. Happy Early Spring Planting!

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Overwintered Lettuce, Green Onions, and Radish Under Hoop, Picture Taken 3-28-24

Overwintered Top Setting Onions (top of pic) and the Recently Planted Onion Transplants Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 3-28-24

Some of the Seedlings in the Cold Frame, Picture Taken 3-28-24

Juwel Cold Frame Out in the Garden, Picture Taken 3-28-24

2023 Garden Recap, Most Crops Finished for the Year

Most of the 2023 garden has finished producing for the year. I was able to cut the last harvestable lettuce leaves a few days ago. I am still harvesting carrots, but those should be finishing up in another two weeks or so. Low temperatures in the Indianapolis area reached the upper teens on November 28 and 29th, which effectively ended the 2023 growing season. Right up to that time I was harvesting the last of the brussels sprouts, cabbage and kohlrabi. Even though it is late December, I am still enjoying the cabbage and kohlrabi as they tend to keep for a long time in the refrigerator. I snapped a few pictures of some of the mid November harvest below. Overall, I was very pleased with the production of the 2023 garden and am looking forward to a hopefully very productive 2024 garden. This January, I will be going through all of my seed inventory and making my seed order for the 2024 gardening season. Here is wishing all of you a very happy and productive 2024.

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Cabbage and Cauliflower Harvested on 11-17-23

Lettuce Still Growing, Picture Taken 11-19-23

Carrots Still Looking Good, Picture Taken 11-19-23

Hard Freeze Hits Fall Garden, Still Very Dry

Well, a hard freeze hit the garden on October 31st, with lows hitting 23 degrees. The cool season plants that I wanted to protect were covered with row covers and they survived, although I had my doubts. The brussels spouts were not covered (it is hard, if not impossible, to cover those, being that some of the plants are almost five foot tall). Despite not being covered the brussels sprouts did fine as they seem to tolerate cold very well. Before the freeze I was able to harvest some of the last peppers and tomatoes. I also harvested the first three of the six cauliflower heads on October 29th, they were huge! (see one of pics below). I still have two heads of cauliflower in the garden. The lettuce continues to grow very well, which was covered with a plastic covered hoop. I always let some of my Sierra lettuce plants self-seed in the fall, which have really taken hold in half of the lettuce plot. The carrots were also covered with a plastic covered hoop. I will be harvesting more of the carrots as we move through November and December. The harvest has pretty much finished up on the broccoli. The fall broccoli did really well this year. I did manage to harvest a few heads of cabbage and one head of kohlrabi over the last few weeks, with many more to come. I have some really giant heads of kohlrabi still in the garden. I will be harvesting those over the next month or so. I was able to plant seven small rows of topsetting onions (these were the ones that were saved from this years plants) out into the garden in the last week of October. I covered these with some dry leaves and then temporarily covered them with a row cover to keep the squirrels from digging them up until they grow some roots.

Since the hard freeze, the weather has turned warmer, but it is still very dry in the garden. I have been watering the carrots about every three days. The rest of the plants seem to be doing okay without additional watering. The 2023 gardening season is winding down, but if the weather stays warm enough, I should be harvesting up and into December.