Kohlrabi: A Growing Guide

Kohlrabi: A weird-looking but delicious vegetable Kohlrabi looks like a turnip growing above-ground. It’s a cabbage-family member, so it’s no surprise that the edible white, green, or purple “bulbs” (which are actually swollen stems) have a cabbage-turnip taste. Kohlrabi is, however, milder and sweeter than either of those vegetables.

Planting: Kohlrabi grows in loose, average soil. For a spring crop, direct-sow seeds 4 to 6 weeks before the last average frost; plant ¼ inch deep, 10 seeds per foot. Or start seedlings for a fall crop indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last average frost. When seedlings are around 4 inches tall, thin plants to (or set out transplants at) 5 inches apart in rows 1 foot apart.

Growing guidelines: Keep plants well watered and free of weeds; put down a mulch to help accomplish both tasks. Cultivate carefully to keep from damaging the delicate, shallow roots.

Problems: See the Cabbage Growing Guide for insect and disease controls.

Harvesting: Use young leaves in salads and stir-fries. Harvest immature “bulbs” when they are no more than 2 inches in diameter, cutting the stems 1 inch below the swollen stem. Remove the leaf stems and leaves, and use the remaining stem as you would turnips. Kohlrabi will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator and for several months in a cold, moist, root cellar.

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Links:
[1] http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/feeding-healthy-soil
[2] http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/cabbage
[3] http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/building-root-cellar-your-home
[4] http://www.ogencyclopedia.com/?cm_mmc=og.com-_-EditorialContextual-_-SiteLink-_-UltimateEncyclopediaofOG&keycode=142716