Vegetable Garden – Tips on Growing Kohlrabi From Seed

This is an odd-looking member of the cabbage family, which is grown for its bulb-like stem that tastes like a mild, sweet turnip. You can also eat the leaves. High in fiber and vitamin C, it is a fast-growing, cool-season crop for both spring and fall. Plants are ready to harvest just a few weeks after planting. Kohlrabi needs an even supply of moisture to produce good bulbs. Mulch with compost, finely ground leaves, or finely ground bark to keep the soil cool and moist and to keep down weeds. Apply 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week if it does not rain. You can measure the amount of water with a rain gauge.Although the same pests that like cabbage can and will also attack kohlrabi, it is generally less troubled by aphids, root maggots, cabbage worms, and other caterpillars. Club root and black rot diseases in the soil can be a problem.Harvest kohlrabi stems when they are still young and tender, usually about 2 inches in diameter. Harvest by cutting them from the base of the plant. You can trim the leaves from the stem and save them to cook separately. Kohlrabi keeps for 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge. You can peel and slice kohlrabi tubers to eat them raw with dips or in salad, or you can cook them like turnip.

• Planting Depth: 1/4-1/2"
• Soil Temp. for Germ.: 60-65°F
• Days to Germ.: 8-12
• Average Spacing: 4-8 seeds/ft. in rows 24-36 in. apart.
• Days to Maturity: 60-65
• Light -Partial Shade/Full Sun
• Moderate Water

START INDOORS

• In a warm, well-lighted area about 4-6 weeks before planting outside.
• Sow seeds ¼" deep in seed starting formula. Keep evenly moist.
• Seedlings emerge in 8-12 days at 70º F. They will do best covered lightly with soil.

TRANSPLANT

• Seedlings can be placed outside 2-3 weeks before your last frost date. They grow best at 60º to 65º F.
• Be careful when transplanting, as their root system is very sensitive to shock.
• Set out Spring transplants about 4 weeks before the last frost so they mature in cool weather. Transplants just out of a greenhouse need initial protection from freezes.
• Set out Fall transplants about 6 weeks before the first frost. In fall, plants “hardened” by gradual exposure to cool weather are tolerant of frost. Kohlrabi that matures in cool weather is deliciously sweet.
• Give it fertile, well-drained, moist soil with plenty of rich organic matter.
• The key to a good kohlrabi is steady growth from the start. Avoid root-bound transplants.
• A soil pH between 6.5 and 6.8 discourages club root disease. To check pH, test the soil with a purchased kit, or get a soil test through your regional Cooperative Extension office. Fertilize and lime according to test recommendations.
• Without a soil test, add nitrogen-rich amendments such as blood meal, cottonseed meal, or composted manure to the soil. Or, you can work a timed-release vegetable food such as 14-14-14 into the soil according to label directions. Or a liquid starter fertilizer such as fish emulsion or Herb and Vegetable Plant Food at the of planting for a boost. Fertilize with a liquid fertilizer again after plants begin to develop new leaves and when they start forming heads.
• Kohlrabi needs at least 6 hours of full sun each day; more is better.
• Space about 12 inches apart. Exact spacing is not critical as long as you give the plants enough room to develop their swollen stems.