About second-hand machines for Brussels sprouts

The healthy image of the Brussels sprout contributes to its worldwide rising popularity among consumers. Brussels sprouts are what is nowadays called a ‘superfood’, just like other cabbage varieties such as broccoli and kale. In Europe, Brussels sprouts are primarily grown in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. Because of the growing demand for Brussels sprouts these are professionally grown and mechanically processed in more and more countries in the world, including Canada and the USA. 

Brussels sprouts planter

Brussels sprouts can be planted using many of the same planting machines that are used for other cabbage varieties. Most growers get their Brussels sprout seedlings from suppliers that are specialised in propagating young plants from seeds. The machine subsequently chosen to plant the seedlings depends in part on whether they are supplied as tray plants or in soil blocks. 

Not all machines can transplant both types. The number of planters suitable for transplanting Brussels sprout seedlings in soil blocks is rather limited. Baekelandt Perdu and Lauwers both produce planters that can handle Brussels sprout plants in soil blocks. The machines offered by Ferrari, Lauwers, Chechi & Magli and Fedele are among the most suitable for transplanting tray seedlings. Planting machines for Brussels sprouts usually tend to observe a row distance of 75 cm.

Brussels sprout harvesters

Sprout picking machines are used to harvest Brussels sprouts. When harvesting, the stalks – which are chopped off at the base – are fed into the machine’s stripping head. There are various models of Brussels sprout harvesters. Some are towed while others are self-propelled. Also, the number of rows that can be harvested varies. There are even electrical sprout-picking units that are used to pick sprouts in the shed. 

Self-propelled sprout harvester on tracks

The most commonly used sprout harvesting machines are the Tumoba self-propelled sprout harvesters on caterpillar tracks. These machines are provided with cutting equipment for each row. The sprouts are harvested by chopping off the stalks and subsequently feeding the product into the head strippers manually. The Brussels sprouts and leaves are cut off the stalk and separated in the stripping head.

Capacity and speed of a sprout harvester

A sprout harvester on tracks can harvest approximately 800 plants per row, in which the operator of the machine has 4½ seconds to feed the stalk into the stripping head. The planting distance determines the driving speed of the sprout harvester during the harvesting process. This is usually 300 metres an hour.

Grading machines for sprouts 

Brussels sprouts are sold in a diversity of sizes in the vegetable trade and in supermarkets, for which they are generally graded according to the following sizes: D (18 mm – 23 mm), A (23 mm – 30 mm) and B (30 mm – 41 mm). A roller grader or a jump grader can be used to grade Brussels sprouts.

Before Brussels sprouts are fed into a grading machine their quality is assessed. This can be done using optical grading machine that detects and removes sprouts and leaves of a deviating quality. The quality of Brussels sprouts can also be assessed manually by using a roller picking table with small diameter rollers, for example. 

Packaging machines for sprouts

The packaging in which Brussels sprouts are delivered to supermarkets and consumers depends on the situation. They can be delivered in a crate or, in other cases, a carefully weighed amount is put in plastic flow pack packaging. Brussels sprouts are usually weighed and packaged using a weigher in combination with a net clipper or a vertical flow pack machine.

You will find our current range of used machines for Brussels sprouts on this page. Do you have a question about one of these Brussels sprouts machines? We will be happy to answer it for you.