Kohlrabi cabbage: growing in open ground with seedlings and seeds

Growing and caring for kohlrabi outdoors is not difficult, especially if you have experience with other varieties of cabbage. It is important to choose the right place for the culture, decide on the method of planting and the appropriate timing. Care for kohlrabi in the open field should be comprehensive.

How does kohlrabi grow

The ancient Romans began to cultivate kohlrabi. It attracts with its rich chemical composition and is a valuable dietary product.

The thickened stalk looks like a turnip or rutabaga, this gave the name to the culture – in German it means “turnip cabbage”

In kohlrabi, a developed root system is formed with a thin, but long taproot with dense branching from it. It is located at a depth of 0,25-0,3 m and evenly diverges in different directions by about 0,6 m. The main root with branches can deepen up to 2,5 m.

When 7-8 real leaves appear in kohlrabi, the stems thicken markedly. In the future, they are formed simultaneously with the growth of leaves. The shape of the stem depends on the variety, rounded and round-flat types have the best taste. In later varieties, the leaves are larger, and their number is greater.

Stem crops are covered with a thick peel. The flesh is firm and fleshy, but juicy and sweet. There are many vessels in the core, therefore the stem crop coarsens as it ripens.

Depending on the variety, the peel may be green or purple.

Where does kohlrabi grow

Growing kohlrabi in the open field is successful in any region. She prefers daytime temperatures of 15-18°C and night temperatures of 8-10°C.

Kohlrabi is a cold-resistant crop. In drought, it can extract moisture in the depths of the soil, but its lack is fraught with low quality stems.

For successful cultivation of kohlrabi, the site must meet the following requirements:

• enough light – when shading, the fruits take longer to form, the yield suffers;
• southern or southeastern slopes are preferred;
• long daylight hours, under such conditions, leaves grow faster and stem crops form;
• loose loamy soil enriched with organic matter;
• the acidity of the earth is neutral or slightly alkaline, the optimal indicator is 6,5-4,4 pH (5,5 is allowed);
• in open ground, it is better to plant a crop after legumes, perennial grasses, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, zucchini;
• a bad predecessor are any representatives of the Cruciferous (Cabbage) family.

A plot for growing kohlrabi in open ground should be prepared in the fall. Digging depth – spade bayonet. Be sure to add the following elements per 1 m²:

• wood ash 1 glass;
• urea 1 tsp;
• organic 3-4 kg;
• superphosphate 1 tbsp. l.

How much does kohlrabi grow

Almost all varieties of kohlrabi are early ripening. In open ground, maturation takes 65-75 days. In this case, harvesting can begin earlier.

When to plant kohlrabi

Pick-up time depends on the method chosen. If you plant seeds on the site, then sowing work can be planned for the beginning of May.

Seedlings begin to be grown from mid-March, and they are moved to the garden in early May. You can move the dates or sow the next batch in early May.

Planting can continue until the end of June. Autumn frosts are not terrible for the plant. The optimal interval between crops is 2 weeks.

How to grow kohlrabi

You can grow kohlrabi by sowing seeds in open ground or through seedlings. The first option is more suitable for varieties with medium and late ripening. Seeds in open ground germinate at a temperature of 15-18 °C. Early and hybrid kohlrabi are best grown in the country through seedlings.

How to grow kohlrabi seedlings

Seedlings are best grown in a special substrate. The soil should be light and loose, contain peat. Better is its mixture in equal parts with soddy soil and humus.

It is better to grow kohlrabi seedlings in containers with separate cells, you can also use disposable plastic cups, cassettes, peat or coconut briquettes

The process begins with seed preparation:

1. Dip the material for 15 minutes in hot water. Temperature 50°C.
2. Immediately transfer the seeds to ice water, hold for 1 minute.
3. Dip the material in a pre-prepared solution of trace elements for 12 hours.
4. Rinse the seeds and put them in the refrigerator for a day (compartment for vegetables).
5. Keep the material in a damp cloth until it pecks.

After sowing, cover the container with glass and keep at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. After germination, shelter is not needed, and the temperature is reduced to 8 ° C. After 1,5 weeks, the temperature is raised again to 17-18 °C.

Caring for seedlings is easy:

• moistening the earth as needed, not watering, but “sprinkling” it;
• temperature control;
• single watering of potassium permanganate – the solution should be weak, a measure is needed to prevent the black leg;
• when 2 true leaves appear, feed the seedlings – for 1 liter of water 0,5 tsp. mineral complex and 0,5 tablets of trace elements.

When sowing in a common box after the development of 1 true leaf, the seedlings must be moved to peat pots. After that, maintain the temperature at 20 °C. After a few days, reduce it to 17 °C during the day and 11 °C at night.

Before planting in open ground, seedlings must be hardened off. The process starts 2 weeks before. This must be done gradually.

How to grow kohlrabi cabbage outdoors

You can plant seeds when the soil is warm. To make them evenly distributed, you can mix them with other material:

• mustard, millet, rapeseed – pre-ignite the seeds so that they do not germinate in the future;
• sawdust, they must be dry;
• dried sand;
• superphosphate in granules – by weight 3-10 times more than kohlrabi seeds.

It is convenient to plant a crop in open ground with dragee seeds. The seeding rate is less, the distribution is more even, and the emergence of seedlings is earlier.

1-0,1 g of seeds are sown per 0,2 m². It is necessary to close them up by 1,5-2,5 cm. It is convenient to sow seeds in grooves previously spilled with water. Distance between rows 30 cm, between adjacent plants 3-4 cm. Compact the soil immediately.

After germination, thinning is required. Between adjacent plants should remain 10-15 cm in early and 25-50 cm in medium and late varieties.

When thinning in the garden, the strongest specimens are left, steel plants can be transplanted to another place

Rules for caring for kohlrabi

To obtain a rich harvest with excellent taste characteristics, agrotechnics of kohlrabi in the open field is important. The rules are as follows:

1. Make sure the soil is always moist. At first, kohlrabi is watered 1 time in 2-3 days, then 1 time per week. On hot days, watering should be increased, but not as plentiful as for other types of cabbage.
2. Regularly weed kohlrabi, loosen the aisles and soil around the plants in the rows, go deep by 6-8 cm. Looseness of the earth is important for the juiciness and tenderness of the crop.
3. Spud kohlrabi before the growth of stem crops.
4. You can fertilize the crop 2-3 times per season with a minimum interval of 1 month. Alternation of organic and mineral fertilizers is recommended. Culture responds well to Carbamide, Mortar. For 10 liters of water you need 1 tbsp. l. the chosen tool.

Diseases and pests

When grown outdoors, kohlrabi suffers from the same problems as other types of cabbage. One of the common diseases is mucous or vascular (black rot) bacteriosis. The problem can arise at any stage of growth. The disease is promoted by high air temperature and high humidity. For prevention, it is important to observe crop rotation and burn plant residues.

From bacteriosis of kohlrabi, the drug Binoram helps, seedlings are sprayed with Planriz for prevention

Another fungal disease of kohlrabi is quila. It is promoted by heavy and acidic soil, its waterlogging. The affected seedlings of kohlrabi should be destroyed; they will die in the open field. For prevention it is necessary to use fumigants for tillage.

Kila is manifested by swelling and growths on the roots that have the same color, the suction capacity is disturbed, which leads to decay

Another problem of kohlrabi is peronosporosis. Seedlings are more likely to suffer from downy mildew. The disease is manifested by yellow spots on the leaves above and a white coating below. The yellowing and death of the leaf plate begins, the plant weakens.

Vectra, Skor, Topaz, Bordeaux liquid help with peronosporosis

A lot of kohlrabi and pests:

1. One of the main parasites is the flea. It can be cruciferous, black, wavy. Pollination with wood ash with slaked lime and ash with tobacco dust will help get rid of insects. Naphthalene can be used between rows.
   
   

   The cruciferous flea prefers young shoots, appears at a temperature of 15 ° C, the plant can die in 2-4 days

2. Another enemy of kohlrabi in the open field is the cruciferous gall midge, also called petiolate mosquito. Its dimensions are only 2 mm. The larvae do harm. Their defeat leads to deformation of plants, subsequent decay. Early sowings are especially affected.
   
   

   Neonicotinoids help get rid of petiole mosquito, for prevention it is important to remove weeds in a timely manner

3. The enemy of kohlrabi is also the wireworm – the larvae of any click beetle. They have a rigid body, 1-4,5 cm long. The larvae live in the soil, spoil the seeds, young roots, root crops, making them susceptible to various diseases.
   
   

   It is effective to use baits against the wireworm – straw, grass, pieces of root crops, the larvae that have climbed there must be collected and destroyed

4. Kohlrabi also suffers from tobacco thrips. It usually infects seedlings. You can get rid of the pest with the help of Agravertin, Aktellik, Vertimek, Confidor Extra.
   
   

   To prevent tobacco thrips, it is necessary to burn plant residues, regularly water plantings, mulch the soil, remove weeds, dig the ground very deep

5. Another enemy of kohlrabi is cabbage, also called cabbage white. The caterpillars of this butterfly eat the young leaves of the plant. One insect can lay up to 200 eggs.
   
   

   You can fight with cabbage with Bitoxibacillin, Lepidocide, wasps are a natural enemy

Harvesting

When spring sowing in open ground, kohlrabi should be collected as it ripens, but it is stored for only 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Summer sowing is harvested simultaneously with white cabbage at a temperature of 3-5 ° C during the day and 0-1 ° C at night.

It is necessary to collect kohlrabi on a dry, clear day:

1. Dig up stems with roots.
2. Dry the crop in the shade.
3. Remove soil and trim leaves. If you leave the roots, then kohlrabi will last longer.

The crop is stored well, but it needs high humidity (95%). The best keeping quality is distinguished by varieties with purple skin. It is better to store kohlrabi in boxes, pouring sand over the stalks. Zero temperature is optimal. Under all conditions, the harvest can lie up to 8 months.

Conclusion

Growing and caring for kohlrabi in the open field is no more difficult than working with other types of cabbage. The culture can be planted with seeds or seedlings. Care should be comprehensive, including the prevention of diseases and pests. Proper organization of it allows you to get a rich harvest with good taste.