Brussels Sprout Growing Stages. Brussels sprout (Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera) is growing from seed and goes into several stages of growth. This plant takes about 80-100 days to grow and harvest. But how do Brussels sprouts grow?
Brussels Sprout Growing Stages
Stage 1. Seed
The seeds of Brussels sprout are a mix of gray, brown, reddish, and black seeds. The color of the seeds are different from other seeds and they are small and round in shape.
A Brussels sprout plant will produce a lot of seeds when it matures. When the seeds are mature and high in quality, they will have a high germination rate.
Stage 2. Germination
The Brussels sprout seeds will germinate in about 5 to 10 days. There are some factors that may affect the speed of germination like the quality of seeds, weather, etc, so some seeds may germinate slower.
During this stage, the seed coat breaks, and the root and tiny leaves grow out of the seed. At first, the roots are short but as the day passes by it grow longer. A tiny stem along with the leaves comes out of the soil.
A tiny Brussels sprout plant will appear on the soil. The small plant needs a little water and short exposure to sunlight. It will increase in length after a few more days and become a seedling.
Stage 3. Seedling
Once the seeds have been germinated they will turn into seedlings. The Brussels sprout seedlings have a few short and thin roots, a thin stem, and a few small leaves. More exposure to sunlight and more water are needed by the seedlings.
Commonly Brussels sprouts are transplanted. The seeds are planted in a seedling tray first and once they have enough size they are transferred to the garden soil.
They are good to be transplanted 15 to 20 days after sowing the seeds. Depending on the size, some seedlings can be transplanted earlier and some may take longer.
Stage 4. Vegetative Growth
With the help of sunlight, Brussels sprout plants are able to make their food. The plants will grow bigger and bigger and grow a lot of roots, and leaves and the stem grows longer and thicker. At least 6 hours of sunlight will help the plants thrive better.
Aside from sunlight, Brussels sprouts also need water and nutrients. Around 1-1.5 inches of water per week is good enough for the plants. Also, nutrients will improve the overall growth of the plant.
Stage 5. Brussels Sprouts Formation
Once the Brussels sprout plants reach their maturity stage, they will grow Brussels sprouts. The sprouts are growing on the stem and they look like tiny cabbages. Sprouts grow from the bottom up to the top of the stem underneath the leaves.
Once there are plenty of sprouts and they have a good size they can be harvested. It will take about 80 to 100 days to grow and harvest Brussels sprouts but for some factors, they can take much longer.
In harvesting the Brussels sprouts, they can be twisted one by one but on a big farm, the stem is cut, and remove all the leaves except the leaves on the very top because they are still edible.
Stage 6. Flowering
After a few months of growing, the plant stem will grow longer and it will grow flowers. The flowers of Brussels sprout are small, have thin petals, and are yellow in color. There will be a lot of flowers growing on the plant.
The Brussels sprout flowers are being pollinated with the help of the wind and pollinators. The wind and the pollinators can help to move that pollen to the flowers to make them pollinated. When many flowers are pollinated seeds will be produced.
Stage 7. Seeding
How does Brussels sprout produce seeds? The seeds of Brussels sprout form when a lot of flowers are pollinated. Those pollinated flowers will turn into a pod. It looks like a bean and the seeds are growing on those pods.
During the early days, the pods are green but over time it changes in color to brown and dry. It will take time for those pods to mature but once they are dry and brown the seeds can be collected.
The pods are being harvested by twisting from the stem and by opening those pods the seeds can be collected. There will be a lot of pods per Brussels sprout plant and those collected seeds can be used to grow a lot of plants.
The Life Cycle of Brussels Sprout: Brussels Sprout Growing Stages
The Brussels sprout life cycle starts from a seed, the seed germinates and becomes a seedling, and the seedling is transplanted and it becomes mature, the Brussels sprouts formed on the stem and can be harvested in about 80-100 days, after that the plant flowers, and it produces seeds.
