How tall are the plants? The sprouts develop all along the stem at the leaf/stem joints as the plant grows.

Dave

About 30 inches tall.

Whew. That's a relief.

Is there any way to force the heading if the season is running out? I think I read a suggestion to top them off. My plants are only about 18-24".... I planted them late, and got a little lazy with the seed starting and hardening off in July.

Not that I know about. Once the bottom heads appear, you can make the heading more uniform by topping the plant. When I grew them in Zone 6 Virginia, I would top them at Thanksgiving and have a full stalk of sprouts by Christmas.

Farmerdill, I'm in PA. Could it be possible that it might take until December for my BS to be mature?

Possible, Check the DTM of your variety and count back to your transplant date. One of the earlier varieties may head up in November from a late July planting. They will tolerate cold until the ground freezes.

Don't rush the harvesting. They are very cold/frost tolerant and improve in flavor the longer you let them remain in the garden after the first frost.

Dave

And if/when you do finally take the tops out make sure to eat them. They are delicious and have their own flavour. They're sold here as a separate winter vegetable from the sprouts themselves.

I had brussel sprouts in the spring that did squazoo, all summer they sat and grew. They are now over 4' tall and have big sprouts up the stem about halfway and then decrease until tiny tiny at the top. Our spring here was warmish and then bam, right into mid summer in temp. I guess it inhibited the growth. I was patient, actually didn't need that specific space, and it appears I will get produce after all.