As of: February 17, 2024 5:00 a.m
Growing kohlrabi is easy and suitable even for beginners. The vegetables can be brought forward as early as February. If you spread the sowing over the gardening year, you can reap multiple harvests.
Whether raw or cooked: Kohlrabi has a mild, slightly nutty to sweet taste and is also very healthy. The vegetables are ideal for growing in your own garden and can even be grown in a raised bed or in a pot on the balcony. Growing kohlrabi is relatively uncomplicated and is therefore also suitable for beginners.
Plant different types of kohlrabi and harvest them several times
Whether white or purple: Kohlrabi is tasty and healthy.
Kohlrabi is one of the vegetables that can be sown again and again throughout the year. The culture period for early varieties is only around eight to twelve weeks; late varieties are usually ready to harvest after around 20 to 30 weeks. With optimal planning, depending on the weather conditions, you can harvest crisp, fresh kohlrabi several times from May to October. There are both white varieties with a mostly greenish skin and varieties with a purple color. The popular “Super Schmelz” variety is particularly tender, does not become woody and can weigh three or more kilos.
Prefer kohlrabi from February
If you want to harvest your first harvest in May, you can grow kohlrabi on the windowsill from February. A cold frame is also suitable. It is important that the temperature is between 16 and 20 degrees. If it is too cold during the cultivation phase, the kohlrabi may not form any tubers and instead form a flower. The seedlings can be planted outdoors at the end of March or April. To be on the safe side, they should be protected from the cold at night with a fleece until the Ice Saints in May.
Sowing the seeds in potting soil
Egg cartons and toilet paper rolls make good pots for growing vegetables.
To sow, place the kohlrabi seeds in seed pots filled with potting soil. Add a good half a centimeter of substrate on top, press the soil lightly and water. Place the cultivation pots in a mini greenhouse or cover them with cling film to ensure high humidity. During the germination phase, occasionally remove the lid or foil to prevent mold from forming. A bright, warm place is ideal. After around two weeks the first cotyledons appear, followed a little later by the leaves. If you have sown very closely, this is a good time to prick out the plants, i.e. separate them. The lid or foil can now be permanently removed.
Plant kohlrabi in the bed
Whether in a raised bed, pot or vegetable patch: Kohlrabi needs a sunny to partially shaded location. The garden soil should be nutrient-rich, moist and rather alkaline, i.e. calcareous. Before the young kohlrabi plants are placed in the bed in early spring, they should be gradually accustomed to the lower temperatures. When planting, make sure that the seedling is not planted too deep. The tuber that forms above ground, a thickening of the stem, must not rest on the ground, otherwise it may begin to rot or not develop at all. Work some mature compost into the soil so that there are enough nutrients.
The correct planting distance and suitable bed neighbors
Kohlrabi should not be planted next to other types of cabbage.
The planting distance depends on the variety: the large variety “Super Schmelz” requires a distance of 40 centimeters, smaller varieties around 25 centimeters. There should be around 50 centimeters between the rows for large varieties and 30 centimeters for small varieties. Kohlrabi is well suited to planting in a mixed culture, which ensures that the vegetable grows healthy and strong. For example, beans, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers and potatoes are suitable as planting neighbors; you should not plant kohlrabi next to other types of cabbage.
Downloads
Mixed crops strengthen plants. A printable list of good and bad neighbor plants. Download (96 KB)
Water and harvest kohlrabi
To prevent kohlrabi from becoming woody, it needs regular water.
Regular watering ensures that kohlrabi does not become woody. Sufficiently moist soil is particularly important in the initial phase of tuber formation. A layer of mulch protects the soil from drying out and also suppresses weeds. The right time for harvesting has come when the typical size for the variety has been reached. For smaller varieties, this is roughly the size of a tennis ball. In principle, you can harvest kohlrabi at any time, but most varieties – apart from “Super Schmelz” – become woody and don’t taste good if they have grown too large.
Are kohlrabi leaves edible?
Not only is the peeled tuber tasty, the leaves are also suitable for consumption. The outer, large leaves should be eaten cooked, for example as an addition to soups. The tender, inner leaves are also suitable raw for seasoning various dishes. The tubers will stay fresh in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for about a week. If you have harvested a lot, you can also store kohlrabi in a pile of soil.
Further information
Carrot, cabbage or lettuce: For many types of vegetables there is an optimal period for sowing. A sowing calendar. more
Whether raw or cooked, as a soup or casserole: Kohlrabi is versatile and healthy. Ideas for preparation. more
This topic in the program:
NDR 1 Lower Saxony | Garden podcast: All carrots, or what?! | 02/12/2024 | 6:00 p.m