Harvest
Brussel Sprouts are either hand harvested or Machine harvested at Sprout Central we do a combination of both.
Hand Harvest
1.When Sprouts are firm and have grown to the desired size, we check the leaves have started to turn yellow and that they’re dropping off the plant. These are indications that it’s time to start harvest.
2.Staff start hand picking at 7:30am during the warmer months. However this changes in mid and late winter because of the cooler whether conditions e.g.; heavy frosts and snow. They must wait for the frost and snow to thaw before picking.
3.Staff pick individual sprouts from the stalk of the Brussel Sprout plant into a bucket. They then transfer the full buckets into 75ltr containers. Staff are paid for every full 75ltr container.
4.When quotas for the day have been reached, the 75ltr containers are transported back to the pack house for grading and dispatching.
Machine Harvest
1.When sprouts are of all even size, we start machine harvesting.
2.Brussel Sprout plants are cut at the base and feed into the machines stripping heads.
3.When the machine is full, it’s unloaded into a transport trailer and transported back to the pack house for grading and dispatch.
