Although they're relatively easy to grow, harvesting Brussels sprouts can be confusing. Questions like “Do Brussels sprouts regrow after harvesting?” and “Can you pick small Brussels sprouts?” are common among home gardeners. And if you don’t time your harvest correctly, you might end up with undersized sprouts or sprouts with yellowing leaves and an unpleasant bitter flavor. Follow these tips for harvesting Brussels sprouts to get a large and delicious crop every time.
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The 5 Best Ways to Cook Brussels Sprouts Everyone Will Love
1. Be Patient
Compared with crops like radishes and lettuce, Brussels sprouts are relatively slow-growing, so don’t worry if your plants aren’t producing big sprouts right away. Brussels sprouts take about 80 to 110 days to reach maturity when grown from seed, although you can harvest sprouts earlier if you purchase the Brussels sprouts as nursery starts.
2. Remove Extra Leaves
Throughout the growing season, prune away any yellow or damaged leaves on the Brussels sprout plants and snip off the lower leaves on the stem. This redirects the plant’s energy toward sprout production and prompts Brussels sprouts to mature more quickly.
When you begin harvesting the sprouts, also remove the leaves below the sprouts you pick to tidy the plant and make it easier to see the sprouts on the stem. Be careful not to remove many leaves at once, as the plants still need leaves for photosynthesis.
Don’t toss the Brussels sprout leaves in the trash. Those leaves are edible and can be cooked like kale or collard greens.
3. Know When to Harvest
Brussels sprouts are a cool-weather crop that is primarily harvested in the fall, although some gardeners plant Brussels sprouts in spring. The right time to harvest Brussels sprouts depends on when you planted the crop, but in general, spring-planted Brussels sprouts should be harvested before hot weather arrives and the plants begin to bolt. Brussels sprouts planted in autumn are usually picked after a light frost.
Although temperatures below 20°F will eventually kill Brussels sprout plants, these vegetables are hardy, and their flavor improves after a light frost. Picking sprouts after frost results in a sweeter and tastier crop of sprouts.
4. Pick at Peak
As harvest time approaches, check your plants often to see how the Brussels sprouts are developing. Harvestable sprouts should be firm and measure about 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter. Ripe sprouts should be a bright green color, while overly mature sprouts turn yellow, and their leaves start to open.
Picking Brussels sprouts while they’re still green and tightly closed results in the tastiest homegrown sprouts. If you let sprouts get overripe and turn yellow, they develop a bitter flavor and are unpleasant to eat.
5. Harvest in Stages
Brussels sprouts don’t all develop at once, so make sure to check the plants every few days and harvest the sprouts in stages. Picking sprouts as they mature redirects the plant’s energy toward ripening the sprouts that remain on the stem. Even better, harvesting a little at a time provides your kitchen with an ongoing supply of fresh Brussels sprouts to add to your favorite recipes.
6. Pick Often
Checking the plants every few days for ripe sprouts and frequently harvesting them results in the most flavorful Brussels sprouts from your garden. Beyond that, harvesting also causes your Brussels sprout plants to produce more sprouts higher up on their stems.
7. Go Bottom to Top
The sprouts lower down on the stem ripen earlier than those higher up on the plant. Harvesting the lowest sprouts first prevents the oldest sprouts on the plant from becoming overly mature.
8. Use a Sharp Knife
Ripe Brussels sprouts can be twisted or snapped off the plant with your fingers; however, you can also use a sharp knife to harvest the sprouts. Removing sprouts with a knife makes a clean cut on the plant and limits damage to the stem.
9. Top the Plants at Season's End
Topping Brussels sprout plants is optional, but it can cause the remaining sprouts to mature faster and often produces larger sprouts. The best time to top Brussels sprouts is in autumn, about 4 to 6 weeks before your first frost date.
To top the plants, cut off the growth tip on the plant directly above where the upper sprouts are growing from the stem. This prevents the plant from growing more leaves and prompts the last of the sprouts to fill out.
10. Gather the Last Harvest
Brussels sprouts can survive a few frosts, but when temperatures drop below 20°F, the plant stops producing new sprouts, and any remaining sprouts are damaged by the cold. To avoid this, harvest the entire Brussels sprout stem at the end of the season by either cutting the stem off at the soil line or digging up the plant, roots and all.
If you harvested sprouts throughout the autumn, you may not have any large Brussels sprouts remaining on the plant, but that’s OK. Small Brussels sprouts are edible and can be tender and delicious to eat. After removing the last of the Brussels sprouts from the plant, peel the outer skin off the stem and cook it like broccoli or use it to make homemade vegetable stock.
