Brussels sprouts expected to be 25% bigger this year
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Brussels sprouts will be 25% bigger this year, according to Tesco. Good growing conditions and new, hardier varieties have resulted in the "best [crop] we've had in recent years" of the Christmas staple, said the supermarket. The average sprout this year is 30mm in diameter, up from 24mm last year.
Last year, heavy rainfall in late November and December meant the sprout yield was lower than average. "This year we've pretty much had a reversal in growing conditions to 2023," said John Moulding, commercial director of Lincolnshire-based vegetable supplier TH Clements.
"[We've had] the right amounts of warmth and sunshine during the summer months after they were planted, good amounts of rain during the autumn and now colder weather in December.". In order to make sure there are enough sprouts for every Christmas plate, Mr Moulding's team moved their growing plots to a different type of soil compared to last year.
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This year, their sprouts were grown on "alluvial silts" on the east coast of Lincolnshire, which are silty fields on reclaimed marshland. Read more from Sky News: How abusers spy on partners with 'parental control' appsStrictly Come Dancing's first blind winnerSuspected norovirus cases double the five-year average.