Kohlrabi cabbage: how to grow a good crop

Kohlrabi is not without reason considered children’s fun. She is really loved by children, she gives them a crunch for pleasure, and a good portion of vitamins to get – group B and ascorbic acid. The taste of kohlrabi is tender and sweet, and not at all burning, although this cabbage is often called turnip cabbage in Europe. This type of cabbage is the only one in which a thickened stem is edible – a spherical stem.

Despite its Mediterranean origin, kohlrabi is perhaps the most unpretentious and cold-resistant cabbage that can grow in most regions of our country. And it is also very early ripening – only 65 – 75 days pass from germination to ripening, so it is sown from early spring to July every 2 weeks – a kind of conveyor of vitamin products is obtained.

Cultivation of kohlrabi cabbage

Any soil is suitable for growing kohlrabi, except for acidic ones. In autumn, 4 kg of humus and 1 glass of ash per 1 sq. M. should be added to the area where kohlrabi will grow. m. When planting seedlings in the planting holes put a handful of humus and ash.

It is advisable to choose a sunny place for landing kohlrabi. Because in the shade, this early ripening cabbage can accumulate nitrates with excess nitrogen in the soil.

Kohlrabi is grown both in seedlings and by sowing seeds in open ground. For an early harvest, seeds are sown in March – early April. The optimal time for planting seedlings in the ground is 20-25 days, when the plant has 3-4 true leaves. Seeds are sown directly into open ground at the end of April (1) – kohlrabi withstands frosts down to -6 ° С.

Planting kohlrabi cabbage

Before sowing, the seeds are preliminarily calibrated and treated, and the soil is shed with a solution of biological fungicides – Sporobacterin, Trichodermin, Fitosporin (2).

In open ground, kohlrabi is sown in rows at a distance of 4–5 cm from each other with row spacing of 30 cm. Seeds are planted to a depth of 2 cm. When shoots appear, they are thinned out, leaving 15–20 cm between plants.

For seedlings, kohlrabi is sown in individual pots. Growing seedlings requires bright light, regular watering, and a cool environment.

It is necessary to plant seedlings in the ground on the beds filled in the fall from the planting pattern 25×25 cm (for early varieties) or 60×30 (for late varieties).

Care for kohlrabi cabbage in the open field

Kohlrabi care is easy. If the soil is rich in nutrients, then regular watering and organic mulching are sufficient for early varieties.

Watering. With watering you need to be careful. With a lack of moisture, the stem becomes fibrous and tasteless, with an excess of water, the development of the plant slows down. Therefore, follow the rule: 2 weeks after planting seedlings and 3 weeks after sowing, water kohlrabi 1 time in 2-3 days. Then reduce watering to 1 time per week and only in a long drought the amount of watering can be increased.

Feeding. For the kohlrabi season, 1 top dressing is enough – an infusion of mullein or green fertilizer at the moment when the stem begins to thicken.

Hilling. During the cultivation of kohlrabi, it is necessary to spud several times. The first is carried out at the stage of 5-6 leaves, then every 2-3 weeks.

Disease protection. To protect kohlrabi from diseases, it is enough to observe agricultural technology and carry out preventive tillage and spraying with biological fungicides.

Protection against pests. Kohlrabi must be protected from cruciferous flea, slugs and whitefly caterpillars. For this, dusting with ash, mulching and biological insecticides are used.

Harvesting kohlrabi cabbage

In the summer, the kohlrabi crop is harvested when the stem crop reaches a diameter of 7–8 cm. To do this, they dig a plant with a root, cut the root at the base of the fruit, cut off the leaves, leaving petioles no more than 4 cm long.

Harvested in autumn when daytime temperatures drop to 3-5°C. At this time, late varieties ripen, the diameter of their fruit reaches 15 – 20 cm. Harvesting should be carried out on a warm sunny day. Plants, as well as in summer, are dug up, the roots and leaves are removed and the cuts are allowed to dry in a dry, well-ventilated area.

It is very important not to let kohlrabi outgrow, because the fruit quickly loses tenderness and juiciness, and coarse fibers appear in the pulp.

Rules for storing kohlrabi cabbage

In summer, cut fruits are eaten for 1 to 2 weeks. All this time they should be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper.

In autumn, dried kohlrabi is stored either in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment, but not more than 2 weeks. Or in the basement. To do this, the fruits are placed in boxes on a layer of sand so that they do not touch each other.

Up to six months, kohlrabi can be stored at a temperature of 0 – 5 ° C and a humidity of 95%.

Many housewives cut kohlrabi into rings, blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, cool in ice water and freeze.

Popular questions and answers

We asked about kohlrabi agronomist Oleg Ispolatov – he answered the most popular questions of summer residents.

Sources of

1. Lebedeva A.T. 150 vegetable crops in your garden // M.: Eterna, 2006
2. State catalog of pesticides and agrochemicals permitted for use on the territory of the Federation as of July 6, 2021 // Ministry of Agriculture of the Federation