Kohlrabi has recently become more widespread. It can be grown, both for consumer purposes and on a commercial scale - Kohlrabi has found its niche in the market and its consumer. Cultivation is simple, but it is important to study its varieties and cultivation characteristics.
Botanical Description
From other cabbage - kohlrabi is very different in appearance. It does not head out with tightly laid leaves. The edible part is a thickened stalk, called a stembled, with white juicy pulp. To taste, it looks like a cabbage stalk, but softer and without bitterness.
Stebleplod is usually small, on average 150-400 g, later varieties are larger, weighing up to 3 kg. The shape of the cabbage is mostly spherical with a small number of triangular or ovoid petiole leaves in the upper part.
Kohlrabi is a biennial plant. In the second year it forms flower-bearing shoots, from which the fruit ripens in the form of a narrow pod. The seeds are spherical dark brown. Early varieties sometimes manage to produce seeds in the first year of planting. Even in the conditions of northern summer, you can take 2 crops in one place.
Usually kohlrabi has a light green color, but due to the presence of anthocyanins, it can be colored in different shades of purple.
History and origin
It is believed that the homeland of this cabbage was the Mediterranean, from where it was later transported to East Asia and Europe.
Kohlrabi have been eating for a long time, but the first written evidence of the cultivation of this cabbage is found in the annals of Ancient Rome. At that time, this vegetable was present on the tables of slaves and poor. In the Middle Ages, Kohlrabi became the food of rich people in Europe.
This culture was brought to Russia by Peter the first after his European trip. The tsar was so impressed by the unusual type of vegetable and its taste, that he decided that kohlrabi must be grown in Russia. Of all the names of this cabbage, the German name has taken root, literally translated as “cabbage-turnip”.
The purpose of cabbage
Kohlrabi cabbage is used not only in cooking, it has also found its application in medicine and cosmetology. Kohlrabi is very rich in mineral salts and vitamins. And the content of vitamin C is not inferior to lemon.
In cooking, this tasty and healthy vegetable is used as follows:
- in raw form, adding to salads;
- in soups as a substitute for potatoes or just an additional ingredient;
- in vegetable hodgepodge and when baking;
- as an initial feeding of babies, making mashed kohlrabi;
- late ripe varieties pickle.
Gorgeous fresh cabbage soup with kohlrabi cabbage tastes no worse than cabbage soup prepared using white cabbage. At the same time, kohlrabi matures two months earlier.
In kohlrabi, as well as in the kocherig of other cabbage, nitrates can accumulate, so you need to be careful when buying these vegetables if they are grown in greenhouses or greenhouses.
Kohlrabi cabbage rich in vitamins and minerals is also used in medicine:
- promotes bone growth and strengthening due to the presence of calcium;
- improves peristalsis and normalizes metabolism;
- potassium content helps to remove excess water from the body;
- used by diabetics instead of potatoes;
- relieves inflammation in the oral cavity.
This cabbage is good in that when it is consumed, there is no increased gas formation and bloating. However, people who have high stomach acid should not eat kohlrabi.
Varieties of kohlrabi
Despite the fact that the ripening period of this cabbage is quite short, the existing varieties of kohlrabi are divided into early ripe, mid-early, mid-ripe and late ripe. Varieties are frost-resistant, therefore this vegetable is grown throughout Russia.
Early ripe
Such varieties ripen in 55-60 days. To obtain the earliest possible harvest of kohlrabi, it must be grown in seedlings. Hybrids are very tender and juicy, they are usually eaten fresh, added to salads, but are not suitable for long-term storage.
Variety of cabbage | Stem mass | Productivity kg / sq.m |
Atena | 180-220 | 3,0-3,5 |
Vienna white | 480 | 2,1 |
Vitalina | 430 | 2,2 |
Delicacy | 1500-2000 | high |
The idea | 750-1000 | 2,9 |
Sissy | 540 | 3,5-4,0 |
Nice | 700 | 3,0-3,5 |
Oasis | 1300 | 5,9 |
Octave | 1200 | 5,4 |
Opus | 1100 | 4,6 |
Piquant | 500-900 | 5,9 |
Cook | 120 | 2,3 |
Gusto | 500-700 | 4,6 |
Sonata | 400 | 2,5 |
Atena
Vienna white
Vitalina
Delicacy
The idea
Sissy
Nice
Oasis
Octave
Opus
Piquant
Cook
Gusto
Sonata
Grades and characteristics:
- Atena. This variety is recommended for fresh use and for processing. The socket is medium sized, semi-vertical. The leaf is elongated-oval, resembles the shape of an egg. The color of the leaf is gray-green with light green veins. Has a wax coating. The flat upper side of the leaf blade has virtually no bubbling.
Petioles are white-green, medium in length, width and thickness. The stemblende is rounded with a concave tip, the peel is green, the color of the flesh is white. Atena has small dimensions, but high taste characteristics. The yield of the variety is stable. - Vienna white. It is used fresh and in home cooking. The leaf rosette is semi-raised. Dark blue-green leaf of medium size, has a slight waxy coating. The edge of the leaf is smooth, slightly bubbled.
The color of the stem is dark purple with white flesh, has a rounded shape. Juicy pulp is high in sugar. This variety is drought tolerant. Poorly stored in the winter. - Vitalina. Recommended for fresh use. A dark bluish-green leaf of medium size has purple veins and a faint waxy coating. The edge of the leaf is dissected, the surface is bubbly, the petiole is of medium length and thickness. The peel of the stem has a dark purple color, the white flesh is juicy and dense. It has a great taste.
- Delicious. It is used fresh and for processing. Fruits are rounded, painted red-violet. Valued for its high sugar and vitamin content. The main advantages of the variety include good taste, portability and high keeping quality.
- The idea. The variety is included in the State Register for cultivation in personal subsidiary plots. The rosette of the leaves is semi-raised. The dark gray-green leaf has a weak waxy coating and a dissected edge, the surface is bubbly. Petiole of medium thickness, long. The rounded stembled has a light green color. The pulp is white, juicy, with excellent taste.
Most gardeners prefer to plant this particular variety!
- Sissy. The variety is used fresh and in cooking. Dark gray-green leaves of medium size form a slightly raised rosette. The edge of the leaf is dissected, there is a slight bubbling on the surface. In Sissy, petioles are thin, medium. Juicy white flesh tastes good.
- Nice. It is recommended for fresh use and for processing. The stemblender is flat-round in shape with vertically directed leaves painted in light green. The value of the hybrid is stable yield, resistance to cracking and lignification, and fairly long storage.
If this variety is planted in the seedling method with an interval of a month, then for the entire season it will be possible to collect 2-4 crops.
- Oasis. An early ripe hybrid with a semi-upright rosette of leaves. Leaves are slightly dissected, medium in size and gray-green in color with small petioles. Wax coating of medium intensity, the edge of the leaf is slightly dissected, the surface is slightly bubbled. Stebleplod obeleleptic, peel color white-green. It has a wonderful taste.
- Octave. It is used fresh and in home cooking. A semi-upright rosette is formed by medium-sized gray-green leaves. Wax plaque of medium intensity, margin of leaf is slightly dissected, surface is slightly bubbled. The color of the peel of the inverse elliptical stembled is pale green. The taste is good.
- Opus. Mid-early hybrid with a semi-upright rosette of leaves. A leaf of medium size with a dissected edge on medium intensity with a waxy coating. Petiole thickness from standard to thick. The reverse-wide-elliptic stembled is painted in white and green. It stands out with excellent taste.
- Piquant. It is recommended to use fresh and in cooking. The semi-vertical rosette is formed by large, wide-oval leaves of gray-green color with yellow-green veins. Stebleplod rotated elliptical with white-green peel. It has a juicy, tasty pulp, is resistant to cracking and lignification.
- Cook. Early ripe fruit with a vertical rosette of leaves. Oval leaf of medium size. It is painted yellow-green with a slight waxy coating. The edge of the leaf is serrated, the surface is slightly bubbled. Light green stempled has a wide-elliptical shape. The taste is good.
- Gusto. Used fresh and home cooking. The leaf rosette is semi-vertical, formed by large, oval, gray-green leaves with light purple veins having a slight waxy coating. The dark purple stembled is resistant to cracking and lignification and tastes great.
- Sonata. Early ripe variety with a semi-vertical rosette of leaves. Narrow-oval leaves with a faint waxy coating are colored blue-green with dark purple streaks. The stemblende is round, the peel is dark purple with white juicy flesh.
Middle Early Varieties
The ripening period of medium early varieties of kohlrabi is 70-80 days. These plants are already planted with seeds in open ground. Mid-early cabbage is used both fresh and for cooking various dishes.
Variety of cabbage | Stem mass | Productivity kg / sq.m |
Vesta | 480 | 2,1 |
Dobrynya | 700 | 3,2-3,4 |
Corist | 400-760 | 2,0-2,2 |
Mother hen | 560 | 2,5 |
Purple Haze | 300-1000 | 4,0-4,5 |
Terek | 780 | 2,9 |
Ukza | 300-1200 | 1,9-7,2 |
Vesta
Dobrynya
Corist
Mother hen
Purple Haze
Terek
Uzka
Mid-early kohlrabi varieties give a good harvest and tolerate small frosts safely. These varieties have cultivation tolerance in all regions of the country:
- Vesta. This variety is recommended for fresh use and in cooking. The leaf rosette is semi-raised, formed by dark blue-green leaves with a smooth edge and a slight waxy coating. The surface is slightly bubbled, thin petiole of medium size. Rounded stembled is high in sugar. Its color is purple. The variety is resistant to drought, poorly stored in the winter.
- Dobrynya.The hybrid is recommended for use in home cooking. Green leaves of medium length are collected in a semi-straight socket. The edge of the leaf is slightly incised with a slight waxy coating. Stebleplod broadly elliptic white-green color. White juicy pulp tastes great.
- Corist. The Dutch hybrid is approved for use throughout Russia. The leaves are wide oval in shape, have a gray-green color and a slight waxy coating. The edge of the leaf is wavy. Stebleplod round-shaped, painted in light green with white flesh. The advantage of this variety is that the stembled does not coarse for a long time.
- Mother hen Mid-early variety with a half-raised rosette of leaves. The leaf is long, dark blue-green with a slight waxy coating and a smooth edge. The color of the peel is bright or dark purple. It has a bright taste.
- Purple Haze. Recommended for use in fresh form and in cooking. Has a semi-straight rosette of leaves. The medium-sized sheet is painted dark blue-green, the edge of the sheet is flat, the surface is bubbly. Stebleplod broadly elliptic with dark purple peel and juicy, white flesh.
- Terek. Hybrid with a semi-upright rosette of leaves. The color of the leaves varies from blue-green to dark blue-green with a waxy coating from medium intensity to strong. The edge of the leaf is dissected, the surface is slightly bubbled. Stebleplod is back-wide-elliptic, white-green in color. The taste is great.
- Ukza. Mid-early Dutch hybrid is recommended for use in home cooking. The rosette of the leaves is semi-upright. The dark blue-green leaf of medium length has a strong waxy coating. The edge of the sheet is slightly cut, vesiculation is average. The dark purple stembled has a juicy, crisp flesh with a great taste.
Mid-season varieties
Kohlrabi cabbage with mid-ripening ripening dates is ready for use already in 80-120 days after planting. These varieties are mainly used for cooking various dishes. Vegetables are stuffed and baked or stewed.
Variety of cabbage | Stem mass | Productivity kg / sq.m |
Blue planet | 150-250 | 2,5-3,0 |
Gulliver | 1500 | 4,7 |
Eder | 400 | 3,6 |
Cartago | 200-300 | 3,0-3,5 |
Madonna | 1300 | 4,0 |
Blue planet
Gulliver
Eder
Cartago
Madonna
Recently, more and more hybrids have appeared, the stem of which is resistant to cracking and woodiness. The best mid-season varieties are:
- Blue planet This hybrid. The pulp is white, dense, juicy and sweet. The variety is resistant to adverse weather conditions and is suitable for long-term storage. The main difference is the color, often a turquoise hue.
- Gulliver. Recommended for fresh use and home cooking. Medium-sized oval leaves form a semi-vertical rosette. The color of the leaves is gray-green with a slight waxy coating. The rounded stembled is painted in yellowish-green. It has excellent taste.
- Eder. It is included in the State Register for the Russian Federation for garden plots, household plots and small farms. Rosette of leaves semi-vertical. The leaf is medium sized, oval with a slight waxy coating. The elliptical white-green stembled has a flat apex and whitish flesh. Resistant to lignification.
- Cartago. Recommended for fresh use. Leaves with a blunt tip form a vertical rosette. Their color is pale, dirty green. The edges of the leaf are dissected, the surface of the middle vesiculus. The rounded and flat-round stembled has a delicate taste. This variety gives a stable yield, is resistant to cracking and lignification.
- Madonna Mid-ripening variety is recommended for cultivation in personal subsidiary plots. The blue-green rounded leaf has a slight waxy coating. Stebleplod broadly elliptic with light purple peel.
Late ripening varieties
The vegetation period of these varieties is the longest and ranges from 120 to 180 days. These varieties are more resistant to shooting and tolerate frosts well. Due to the denser pulp, they are best suited for preservation and long-term storage.
Variety of cabbage | Stem mass | Productivity kg / sq.m |
Violet | 1500-2000 | 2,2-2,6 |
Giant | 2500-3000 | 3,0-3,5 |
Hummingbird | 700-900 | 3,0-4,0 |
Kossak | 400-760 | 2,0-2,2 |
Violet
Giant
Hummingbird
Kossak
Varieties Violetta and Giant can be left for the second year to get seed, and Hummingbirds and Kossak are hybrids and are grown from seed of producers. Distinctive features of these varieties are:
- Violet. The Czech variety is recommended for fresh use and processing. Oval flat leaves of blue-green color with light violet veins form a semi-vertical rosette with a diameter of 50-70 cm. The round-flat stempled is painted in dark purple with white juicy flesh. It is frost-resistant, average storage during winter storage.
- Giant. Another Czech variety with a semi-vertical large rosette. The wide oval leaf blade has a gray-green color with medium wax coating. The color of the veins is white-green. Stemblende grows large, whitish-green, with a concave top. Heat and drought resistant, well stored.
- Hummingbird Recommended for fresh use and home cooking. The semi-vertical rosette consists of medium-sized green leaves with a medium-intensity wax coating. Stebleplod elliptical with a dark purple peel. It has excellent taste.
- Kossak. Used for processing. The rosette of leaves is semi-vertical, formed by large dark green leaves with medium wax coating. Large yellowish-green stembled has an elliptical shape with a flat top. The taste is excellent.
The technique of growing kohlrabi
Growing kohlrabi is not much different from growing other types of cabbage. Almost all varieties of this vegetable are frost-resistant, therefore they tolerate planting well in open ground. Seedling method of cultivation is used only to obtain an earlier crop of precocious hybrids. But they can be safely planted in open ground with seeds, especially in the southern regions.
Soil preparation
Kohlrabi, unlike white cabbage, can grow even on low-fertile soils, but by fertilizing and enriching the soil, you will get a much better crop. This vegetable does not tolerate acidic soils. Such soils require liming before planting. The best predecessors for kohlrabi are pumpkin, tomatoes, carrots, carrots, zucchini and legumes.
Land preparation includes the following steps:
- dig up the earth in the autumn with the addition of manure and humus (4 kg per sq. m);
- make mineral fertilizers, which include potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, or ash;
- in the spring, once again apply fertilizers, with incorporation into the topsoil with a rake;
- if fertilizers were not applied neither in autumn nor in winter, add them to each well when planting, or add ash (40 g per well).
Seedling planting
In order to get an early harvest of cabbage, use the seedling method of planting. In the northern regions, this method is used for all varieties of kohlrabi, receiving up to 2 crops per season.
If you want to grow kohlrabi cabbage seedlings, follow these tips:
- Preparation and sowing of seeds. Seeds sold are usually already sorted and decontaminated and do not require pre-treatment. Sow the seeds in pots with a supply of 2-3 seeds, or in boxes with further picking seedlings.
- Dates of landing. Seedlings for early varieties of kohlrabi begin to germinate from the beginning to the end of March, depending on the region of planting and weather conditions.
- Temperature condition. Germinate seeds at a temperature of 20 degrees. When seedlings appear, lower the temperature, but not less than 10 degrees and harden the seedlings for 7-10 days. This is necessary so that the seedlings do not stretch. Then increase the temperature to 16-18 degrees during the day, with a mandatory decrease to 11 degrees at night.
- Dive. Kohlrabi does not tolerate diving, but if you still use this method, then dive seedlings 8-10 days after emergence. Then pour the seedlings and shade. Maintain a temperature of 20 degrees for 2-3 days, then lower.
- Watering. Water the seedlings every other day.
- Top dressing. If the plant looks strong and suffers from diseases, top dressing can be omitted. If a black leg appears, spill the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dry the soil with dry sand.
- Sorting seedlings. Before planting in open ground, harden seedlings and sort them. Kohlrabi is less susceptible to diseases than other types of cabbage, but with heavy watering, seedlings can develop a black leg disease.
Seedlings are ready for planting in open ground in about 30-35 days, when each sprout will acquire 4-5 true leaves. Kohlrabi is very photophilous, so when growing seedlings, provide her with additional lighting.
Seedlings are planted in open ground in late April - early May, when air temperature exceeds 8 degrees.
Outdoor landing
Early varieties can be planted with seeds directly into the ground, just the harvest will be a little later. Early and medium ripening varieties are planted in the soil under the film in early May. Then plant prepared seedlings in the ground, also under a film. In mid-May, plant cabbage in the open ground, and the late varieties sow at the end of May.
Of great importance during the landing is the weather. If spring has stood out cold it is necessary to wait. At low temperatures, kohlrabi will give a flowery arrow instead of building a stem.
Planting kohlrabi does not differ from planting other types of cabbage:
- Soil preparation. Prepare the soil for planting cabbage, add mineral fertilizers or ash to each well and carefully pour at least 2 liters of water into the well.
- Landing pattern. Early ripening varieties are planted in the soil with a distance between the tapes of 40-45 cm, between rows in the tape 20-30 cm with a distance between plants of 15-20 cm. Late-ripening - in rows 60 cm from each other, 20-25 cm in a row.
- Sorting and planting seedlings. If you plant seedlings, sort it, discard weak and diseased plants. Land in the evening. Burrow the sprout into the earth no deeper than the cotyledonous leaves, so that the stembled is well formed. When planting, wash the soil in the well, spill it and sprinkle it with dry earth to prevent it from drying out.
When planting seeds, sow with a margin with further thinning of seedlings. To facilitate planting, brew a sparse flour paste, cool it to room temperature, add cabbage seeds and pour the mixture onto the prepared rows using a teapot with a spout. Seeds close up in the soil on 1,5-2 cm.
So that the cabbage does not translate on your table all summer it is planted in several stages every 20-30 days.
Cabbage care
To get a good harvest of kohlrabi cabbage, you need to regularly water it, feed the plant, loosen the soil and remove weeds:
- Watering. This type of cabbage does not require as much water as the others, however, it does not like the drying of the soil. Therefore, watering is best done by the rain method, followed by loosening the earth. Watering is carried out every 2-3 days, as the plant grows in a non-dry summer, watering can be reduced to 1 time per week.
- Top dressing. Top dressing is usually carried out twice. The first time with an infused solution of rotted manure, diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5. The second top dressing is carried out with complex mineral fertilizers according to the instructions.
- Loosening and weed removal. Kohlrabi cabbage loves loose soil, so loosening is carried out as often as possible - after each watering and rain. This helps preserve moisture in the soil and get rid of weeds. Kohlrabi, unlike white cabbage, do not spud, so as not to interfere with the formation of the stembled.
Diseases and Pests
Kohlrabi cabbage is less than other types of cabbage susceptible to diseases common to all cruciferous. New varieties that are most resistant to cabbage diseases have been developed. To prevent your plants from becoming ill, follow a series of preventive measures:
- in autumn, remove all residues from the garden;
- do not plant cabbage in the same place;
- dress seeds before sowing with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- do not thicken the crops strongly;
- Do not water the plants more often than necessary.
If the plants still get sick, then use the drugs available on the market: against insects - insecticides, against fungal diseases - fungicides. Against viral diseases, only the timely removal of diseased plants will help.
If you do not want to use chemistry on your household plot, then folk remedies will help against insects and pests: a mixture of dry mustard, black pepper and ash or a mixture of ash, tobacco and ground pepper. With these mixtures, you can sprinkle the earth around the cabbage, and spray the plants with prepared solutions based on these mixtures with the addition of liquid soap.
Collection and storage
Kohlrabi cabbage is harvested as the stem grows. If you leave the ripened stemblender on the vine, then it can become numb and crack. Although in recent years there have been varieties that retain their commercial qualities even in overripe form.
Early and mid-season varieties of kohlrabi cabbage are eaten fresh or used for processing. These varieties are not subject to long-term storage.
Late varieties of kohlrabi, thanks to a denser internal structure, are well pickled and stored. They dig out cabbage, remove the rosette of leaves, and leave the stem stalk with the root in the basement, sprinkled with sand.
However, it is necessary to observe the temperature regime in the basement. Humidity should not be less than 95%, and the temperature should rise above 0 degrees. Only in this case the cabbage will be well stored up to 6-8 months.
Kohlrabi can be stored in the refrigerator, but not more than 3 weeks. It can also be frozen by first cutting into small sticks or rubbing it on a grater. Frozen cabbage will be suitable for cooking second courses or adding to soups.
Reviews of gardeners
Natalia, 47 years old, South Ural. I plant kohlrabi only the second year, the Vienna white variety. I like it in salads, grated on a grater. I tear her young, then she is tender and tasty. Over the summer, I destroy the entire crop, and in the fall, other cabbage is suitable.
Oksana, 35 years old, Yekaterinburg. I just love kohlrabi! To a large size, you should not grow it, because hard fibers appear, and it becomes less juicy. Most of all I like varieties painted in purple. It is very useful due to the large amount of silicon.
Oleg, 56 years old, Moscow region. Planted a hybrid kohlrabi Korist. Very juicy vegetable, eat it like an apple! But most of all I liked it because it does not form coarse fibers and does not outgrow. This year I will try to plant this variety 2 times: seedlings in the spring, and then in the summer in the open ground.
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Growing kohlrabi cabbage is not very difficult, especially for those people who have already grown other types of cabbage in their area. During the season you can get 2 or even 3 crops and enjoy this vegetable throughout the summer.