Kohlrabi is a cabbage vegetable rich in vitamins that should not be missing in any garden. Read here how to grow and process kohlrabi.
Green and blue varieties
Kohlrabi are mainly offered as a green variety, but increasingly also as a blue variety.
They can be eaten raw, similar to an apple, or cooked as a vegetable. Your extremely long harvest time can begin as early as mid-May and last into October - depending on the time of sowing.
So that you can harvest plenty, here are our tips on how to grow kohlrabi.
Growing kohlrabi - Here's how it's done
» Soil preparation
In late autumn, the vegetable bed for the kohlrabi should be enriched with plenty of compost. Work this compost, possibly mixed with cow manure, well into the ground and leave fallow through the winter months.
» Cultivation
In early spring (until August) a small groove can be made in the vegetable bed with a rake - approx. 1 centimeter deep . The kohlrabi seed is sown evenly within this groove. If you create several rows of vegetables, you should keep a distance of about 30 centimeters.
If the plants have come up well, they must be thinned out in some places. To do this, dig up the small plants and move them about 10 to 15 centimeters apart.
Tip:
Kohlrabi ripen into a harvest-ready fruit within two to three months. If you would like to harvest regularly, then you should always re-sow at intervals of, for example, two weeks, based as much as possible on your needs.
» Care
Kohlrabi need sufficient moisture, which is why they should be watered well on dry days. In this way, the fruit can also be largely avoided from becoming lignified.
Due to their short growth phase, kohlrabi are usually resistant to pests. In addition, planting them near tomatoes can even prevent infestation with cabbage whites.
» Harvest
Kohlrabi are harvested with a fruit size of about 10 centimeters in diameter. Tubers that are too large often lose their fine nutty flavorTaste. They can then be eaten raw - also in a salad, or steamed.
Tip:
The young kohlrabi leaves, which are as tender as possible, can also be prepared in the form of spinach. Or they can be sliced thinly and processed into vegetables together with the tuber.