Kohlrabi
- Botanical Name
- Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes
- Hardiness
- Annual
- Height
- 12 to 18 inches
- Width
- 12 to 18 inches
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Moist, well-drained
- Planting & Care
- Kohlrabi germinates best in temperatures 45°F to 85°F
- Direct sow outdoors in early spring at least 4 weeks before last frost date and continually every 2 to 3 weeks for an ongoing spring and summer harvest. Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart in rows 12 inches apart - thin seedlings to 6 inches
- The thinned seedlings can be moved to open spaces in the garden or eaten
- For an earlier spring harvest, start seeds indoors and transplanted as soon as the ground can be worked
- For a fall harvest, begin sowing seeds about a month before the first frost
- Use floating row covers to protect plants from insects and plunging temperatures
- Eat leaves as you would kale
- Problems
- Black rot, black leg, cutworm, flea beetles, cabbage aphids, cabbage root maggots, cabbage loopers
- Varieties
- Purple Vienna - purple variety with white flesh, turnip-cabbage flavor, harvest bulbs when tennis ball size
- Kolibri - purple variety with white interior, resistance to black rot
- Grand Duke - white flesh, godd disease resistance, maturity is 45-60 days, All-America Selections winner
- Konan - sweet flavor, excellent texture and uniform upright foliage, AAS winner
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