Kohlrabi Vitamin Bomb: Everything You Need to Know About Planting and Care

This kind of cabbage came to us from Sicily. Enjoys great popularity in Western Europe and Turkey. Local gardeners know how to grow kohlrabi cabbage, because it is considered to be a vitamin bomb and surpasses its other relatives in taste.

Little about kohlrabi

Kohlrabi - This is an early cabbage, high-yielding. The first harvest with proper care can be removed after 2.5 months after planting. Shows high resistance to diseases and pests. Possesses the mass of useful properties, it is a valuable dietary product. Perfectly gets on alongside other garden crops. Unfortunately, in our region it is not sufficiently estimated by gardeners, therefore, it does not have high popularity as a vegetable crop.

Proper fit of kohlrabi cabbage

With the right agrotechnical approaches, you can get two crops of cabbage. It is important to meet the deadlines when exactly plant kohlrabi, to provide for her the appropriate conditions of planting and care. Taking into account all aspects that affect the growing season and ripening of kohlrabi cabbage, you will easily enjoy this vegetable.

Soil requirements

Light is important for kohlrabi, therefore, the lighted areas are selected for planting and are specially prepared soil for cabbage seedlings. Prepare for planting and kohlrabi seeds. Cabbage shoots not demanding to soil, kohlrabi can grow on any soil.

But in order to get a big harvest and more juicy fruits, the ground should be well drained and have neutral acidity or be slightly acidic. The fertile and prepared soil will abundant foliage on the vegetable, and the fruit itself will become larger. In the soil should be enough nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and it should not be acidic.

In the absence of these conditions, the foliage will be bad, and the fruit will not grow juicy and, accordingly, not tasty. Kohlrabi will grow well in areas where they have grown legumes, onions, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers and beets.After collecting these predecessors, you can start preparing the soil for planting seedlings of kohlrabi cabbage for the next year.

Optimum landing times

Doing the first planting cabbage seedlings in open ground, focus on the May holidays, so you definitely will not lose when it is necessary to plant kohlrabi. Kohlrabi seedlings can be planted in several visits starting from May, then in June and in July.

By the first planting of kohlrabi, its seedlings have two pairs of leaves, and its “age” is 40-45 days.

After disembarking in early May, you will be able to harvest in early June. In May, sow the seeds for the second planting of seedlings. And the seeds sown at the end of June will be seedlings, which you will be able to harvest in October.

Growing kohlrabi seedling method and sowing seeds in the ground

This view toapostas allows not only seedlings, but even seeds produce landing in open ground.

In order to grow at home suitable for planting Kohlrabi seedlings, it is necessary to perform a number of tasks:

• prepare the ground;
• process the seeds and harden them;
• ensure optimum temperature;
• time to dive seedlings;
• harden the seedlings before planting in open ground.

So, we are preparing a soil for growing seedlings. To do this, take the sod land, peat and sand in equal shares. Before sowing seeds for seedlings, the substrate is treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate in order to disinfect the soil. Begin to grow seedlings in early March.

Seeds should be sown in the grooves, the distance between which is 3 cm, and between the seeds - not less than 1 cm, we dive into the soil by 1 cm.

Next, we cover trays or boxes with sown seeds, creating a greenhouse effect. The temperature inside should be up to +20 ° С. After the first shoots appear, reduce the temperature to +9 ° С for a week. Then we maintain the temperature at + 15 ... +18 ° С.

Cabbage kohlrabi does not require much effort in growing, but when her plant on seedlingsdepends on the timing of the planned planting of the plant in the ground. When our shoots will be the first sheet, you can dive seedlings.

After that, stick to outdoor temperature. It is equally important to harden the seedlings before planting in open ground.Before planting, but no less than 2 hours, the seedlings must be watered well.

Before sowing kohlrabi seeds into the ground, they must be prepared. We make contrasting seed baths: first we place them in water at 50 ° С for 15 minutes. Then in cold water for 1 minute. After such a procedure, we soak the seeds for 12 hours in water, where we have previously dissolved useful trace elements. After soaking the seeds, rinse and leave for a day in the refrigerator.

We dry the seeds before planting. Now you can sow them. This is best done in late April - early May.

Deepen the seeds by 1.5-2 cm. The distance between the rows should be 50 cm, and between the seeds - 3-4 cm. As soon as the leaves appear on the plants, thin out and leave the seedlings every 7-8 cm. Thin them a second time. when the leaves of the plants close together, the distance between the seedlings should be about 20 cm.

Scheme and depth of landing

There are many tips that how to plant cabbage seedlings in open ground. We want to share proven options.

When planting seedlings need to be planted to a depth before the beginning of the growth of the first leaves. Determine the readiness of seedlings for planting can be by the number of leaves on the plant - there should be 5-6. It is better to plant seedlings on a cloudy day or in the evening. Also, it will not be superfluous to shade it for a couple of days after disembarkation.

For early varieties of kohlrabi, a landing pattern of 60 x 20/70 x 30 cm is suitable, for late varieties - 60 x 40/70 x 45 cm. Kohlrabi varieties with fewer leaves can be planted and thicker.

If you decide to sow the seeds immediately into the ground, then this is done in the grooves, closing 2-2.5 cm deep. Further we carry out thinning of shoots, leaving the strongest.

The subtleties of growing and caring for kohlrabi cabbage

Cabbage kohlrabi although unpretentious, but still needs the right landing and care.

Remember that kohlrabi loves light, so put it on the south or southeast side of the plot.

Sow seeds on seedlings to ensure the presence of kohlrabi on the table as long as possible.

When growing kohlrabi, it is important to comply with all agrotechnical requirements, otherwise, the plant may release an arrow, or the seedlings will outgrow and be unsuitable for planting.

After planting seedlings, the soil should be compacted, the plants should be watered abundantly and sprinkled with earth to reduce evaporation of moisture. On the garden it is important to carry out thinning, moisten the soil.

Watering and dressing cabbage

Kohlrabi loves moisture and needs regular watering. After planting cabbage it needs to be watered every 2-3 days. As you grow, you can then water it once a week, but do not over-moisten the soil, because it can provoke a number of diseases.

Kohlrabi cabbage dressing is carried out 3-4 times per season at intervals of 10-12 days. The first fertilizing is done with chicken manure, the second with rotted manure, and then mineral fertilizers and peat oxide are added.

Soil loosening

For kohlrabi it is very important that the soil breathes. For this you need on the site where you produced planting cabbage seedlings, loosen the soil regularly. After each watering, it is important to flood the soil to a depth of 8 cm.

The benefits of loosening are more than obvious:

• makes the soil structural;
• increases its oxygen saturation;
• accelerates the decomposition of organic matter;
• promotes the accumulation of beneficial elements for the plant;
• prevents excessive evaporation of moisture;
• interferes with emergence of weeds since it allows to destroy their shoots.

Pest Protection

Cabbage care Kohlrabi is not complicated, it is similar to the one we use for white cabbage, but the pests are the same.

Kohlrabi cabbage diseases:

• blackleg;
• kila;
• mucous bacteriosis;
• downy mildew (peronospora).

Kohlrabi pests:

• cruciferous flea;
• cabbage fly;
• snails and slugs;
• aphid, cabbage scoop and whitegrass.

Kohlrabi is very sensitive to chemicals, because its fruit is on top, so it will be appropriate to use popular methods in the fight against pests and diseases of cabbage.

Such a method as treatment with ashes and spraying with a solution of tar soap has proven itself well. A tobacco solution will cope with a cabbage fly, or a scaring mixture with ashes, pepper and tobacco is prepared.

A disease like the keel can be dealt with by liming the soil.

Harvesting and Storage

It is possible to collect cabbage within 2 months after planting, but no later than the fruit in diameter will reach 6-10 cm. The fruit that is 8 cm in diameter is considered optimal. Many growers love to harvest and smaller fruits. If you overdo the kohlrabi crop, then the fruit will grow stiff and tasteless, most nutrients will be lost.

Store kohlrabi from the garden can be in the refrigerator. There it can be kept up to 1 month without loss of all wholesome and taste properties. The leaves must be wrapped in a damp cloth and put in a plastic bag that should not be tied.

For long-term storage collect late kohlrabi. They do it approximately at the same period when the white cabbage is harvested. At the same time, the air temperature should not be lower than 3-5 ° C and before frost

Late varieties of kohlrabi — Gigantic, Blue Delicacy, and Violetta — are suitable for long-term storage after repeated plantings in June. Kohlrabi must be stored at 0 ° C and 95% humidity.

After harvesting kohlrabi from the garden, we cut the leaves, leaving 2 cm near the fruit. Plants are pulled from the soil along with the roots. The root is best left and not cut. Fruits we put in boxes or ventilated baskets and we pour in sand, but not river.

If the harvest of kohlrabi fruits is poured with wet sand and stored in the cellar, then the storage period will be 5-8 months. There is also a way to keep kohlrabi and up to 9 months. This method is freezing. Wash kohlrabi, peel, chop and blanch for 3 minutes. Then let cool, pack and freeze.

Using the above tips, you can easily grow kohlrabi cabbage in your garden and get healthy vitamins until next season.