I planted brussel sprouts, should I cut the top leaves off?
I’m not sure, as I have never grown them. Hopefully someone who knows the answer will see the question and let you know.
You need to let the stalks grow as that is where the sprouts form at the axis of each leaf. You can trim them later in the season...
I usually take the tops off my Brussels around the end of September here in northern Massachusetts. The plant won’t get much taller, so the plant’s energy needs to go into sprout production instead. I like to cut off (cut, not break) a few of the bottom leaves too.
This year I experimented with direct-seeding my tomatoes and the results were both good and bad. (Tomato “volunteers” pop up just fine without being started indoors, so I figured why not?) The plants are big and healthy, so direct seeding works. The drawback is that I’m closing in on my annual first frost date and I have too many green tomatoes and not enough color.
The lesson learned is that indoor starting gives you a running start on harvest time. I’m guessing I lost at least two weeks. Whoops.
I too am twitching to get my garlic in the ground! One distraction after another, but I’ll be howling if the ground freezes and the garlic is still hanging in the kitchen!