Kolrabi is a unique vegetable that is cabbage and turnip at the same time. However, the amazing properties do not end there, kohlrabi cabbage is the keeper of a wide variety of useful ingredients that a person leading a he althy lifestyle needs.
Kolrabi cabbage
Kolrabi belongs to the cabbage family, is a biennial herbaceous plant. It was first grown in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is known that they were cultivated together with white cabbage in ancient Rome.
This cabbage got its name thanks to both the German and Swiss languages. Literally translated, it sounds like "cabbage turnip". Indeed, kohlrabi has the same appearance as turnips, but it tastes like real cabbage. She is one of the leaders in precocity, for which she is loved by vegetable growers.
Kolrabi cabbage is very popular and is used in dishes of various cuisines of the world, such as Turkish, Central Asian, Western European and Chinese. It has a wide variety of vitamins, amino acids and minerals, and is often used inpreparing dietary meals. Nowadays, kohlrabi is grown all over the world, despite the climatic difference on the continents.
Short description of kohlrabi
Kolrabi has large dark green leaves. Edible in this vegetable is the stem, which is formed faster than the head. Growing up, the stem crop in its aerial part takes the form of a turnip. The taste of kohlrabi cabbage is similar to white cabbage, especially it resembles a stalk, but it has great juiciness and sweetness.
Kolrabi is a close relative of vegetables such as:
- Brussels sprouts.
- White.
- Color.
- Red head.
- Beijing.
- Radishes.
- Radish.
- Broccoli.
- Turnip.
Of the types of cabbage and turnips listed in the list, kohlrabi is the richest in terms of the content of active biological elements, various vitamins and minerals that the human body needs for a full life. In addition to its beneficial properties, this cabbage is also a very tasty vegetable.
Cultivation of kohlrabi cabbage
Grow and plant kohlrabi in various ways, one of them is the seedling method. In most cases, it is more convenient to use it than reckless, you only need to know all the nuances of this method.
Kolrabi seeds are sown in a greenhouse or at home in boxes 35 days before transplanting into open ground. To grow the crop early, the seeds underseedlings are sown in the middle of the second decade of March. In this case, it is possible to get ripe vegetables already in early or mid-June.
If you sow seeds in early May, then at the end of July it will be possible to harvest a full-fledged kohlrabi crop. Gardeners will receive late vegetables that will ripen in early October if they sow seeds for seedlings at the end of June. Before planting kohlrabi cabbage seeds, they will need pre-treatment so that most of them will give good, he althy seedlings.
Growing from seedlings
Growing kohlrabi from seedlings begins with pre-sowing seed preparation. To do this, kohlrabi seeds are kept in water with a high temperature (about 50 ° C) for 15 minutes. After that, they are placed in cold water for one minute, and then transferred to a solution containing trace elements for 12 hours. After this period of time, the seeds are washed with cool water and left in the refrigerator for one day.
Then they are wrapped in a damp cotton cloth and waited until they hatch. Once this has happened, they are sown in different containers, which contain a mixture of humus, peat and sod in a ratio of 1:1:1.
This is necessary in order not to pick seedlings in the future, which damages their root system. Crops are kept under glass with the temperature maintained at a level not lower than 20 ° C. After the first shoots appear, the glass is removed, and the temperature is maintained in the range of 7-8 ° C. After 10 days, it is increased to 16–18 ° С.
Seedling care
Growing and caring for kohlrabi when it is still a seedling is very important and requires a lot of attention. During this period, the vegetable is looked after in the same way as white cabbage seedlings. The soil is moistened with water as it dries, the required temperature is maintained in the room. In order for the seedlings not to become infected with the black leg, for preventive purposes it is necessary to water it once with a solution of potassium permanganate, always weak.
During the leaf development phase, top dressing is required. To this end, it is necessary to evenly distribute a solution of half of one tablet of microelements and three milliliters of complex mineral fertilizer, previously diluted in one liter of water, over the leaves.
Kolrabi suffers significantly from picking, which is why seedlings are grown in separate pots. However, if young plants are in the same container, they will definitely need a pick, which is carried out in the development phase of the first leaflet. The shoots are planted in separate pots, which contain a peat-humus mixture. The temperature regime is maintained in the range of 18 - 20 ° С.
Choice of soil for planting kohlrabi
Transplantation, cultivation and care of kohlrabi in the open field can begin after the seedlings are ready.
Kolrabi is good to transplant into the soil in which crops such as:
- Potatoes.
- Carrot.
- Pumpkin.
- Tomatoes.
- Zucchini.
- Perennial herbs.
A good place to plant kohlrabi cabbage is on the slopes in the southern or southeastern areas. It grows well in soils of almost any composition, with the exception of depleted and acidic soils, as in this case the stems will turn out to be tough and will have coarse fibers.
The best indicator of hydrogen content for growing kohlrabi in open ground is pH 6.7–7.4. This is done in the autumn with the addition of about four kilograms of organic fertilizers, 250 mg of wood ash, 3 mg of urea and 5-7 mg of superphosphate for each square meter of land.
Landing in open ground
For landing kohlrabi pick up cloudy weather or land in the evening, after sunset. Varieties that are early ripening are placed on the garden in a schematic order. It looks like this: 60 to 40 or 70 to 30, for late varieties the scheme is: 60 to 55, as well as 70 to 30. In order for you to have a he althy and rich harvest when growing kohlrabi, you need to add 10 mg to each well superphosphate, 3 mg urea and about 40 mg wood ash.
Seedlings are planted, deepening it to the cotyledon leaves, since if planted deeper, this may delay the formation of the stem or lead to flowering. Kohlrabi roots are located at the very surface of the earth and sprinkledsoil. After planting, the soil should be lightly trampled down, and then poured abundantly with water. After the moisture has been absorbed, this area must be covered with soil to prevent rapid and significant evaporation of moisture.
Care and watering kohlrabi cabbage
Caring for kohlrabi is not difficult at all, cardinally this process is no different from caring for other varieties of cabbage. The kohlrabi stem crop begins to form at a time when seven to eight leaves have developed quite well, after which it gradually gains volume.
When growing kohlrabi in the open field, it is necessary to periodically weed the beds, as well as loosen the aisles and the ground around the plants themselves in the rows. This is necessary in order to grow juicy and tender stems. Before they start spawning, kohlrabi must be spudded.
Planted seedlings need to be watered abundantly in a day or two, and after it takes root and its active growth begins, weekly watering is enough. The biggest need for watering in kohlrabi occurs in June, especially if the weather is dry. Kohlrabi is watered often, but not as plentifully as other types of cabbage. It is important to ensure that the soil in your area is moderately wet.
Feeding and processing kohlrabi
During the growing season when growing kohlrabi cabbage, top dressing should be done three times. In the phase when the first two leaves develop, foliar top dressing is carried out with complex fertilizers and microelements. Then, at the beginning of hardening, 14 days before planting seedlings in the groundsprayed with a solution containing 10 mg of potassium sulfate and the same amount of urea diluted in 10 liters of water. And also the processing is carried out immediately before planting in the ground, placing mineral and organic fertilizers in the holes.
In cases where kohlrabi is exposed to disease or parasites, it is necessary to treat cabbage with special means. In most cases, pesticides are used to control pests.
When kohlrabi cabbage is affected by diseases, fungicidal agents should be used to help cope with most diseases. If kohlrabi is infected with a viral disease, it is necessary to remove the diseased plant from the garden and burn it, and disinfect the soil where it grew. As follows from the article, the care and cultivation of kohlrabi cabbage does not present any difficulty, or rather, it is very simple.
Cabbage turnip harvesting
Kolrabi, which was sown in the spring, must be removed from the beds as it ripens, but it cannot be stored in the refrigerator for more than two weeks. But cabbage, which was sown in the period from the last ten days of June to the end of July, can be harvested approximately at the time when white cabbage is harvested, namely, when the daytime temperature on sunny days drops to three to five degrees Celsius, and the night temperature reaches zero degrees.
By this period of time, kohlrabi stems already reach 8-10 cm in diameter and weigh an average of about 110 grams. In the event that the crop is not harvested in time and allowed to overripe, the stem crops will coarsen,will contain a lot of fiber and lose their taste.
Storage of kohlrabi cabbage
After the efforts made in growing kohlrabi cabbage in the open field, the vegetable grower will be pleased with the fact that the stalks are quite well preserved if certain rules are followed. The main factor is to maintain optimal temperature conditions. It is also important to know that purple-colored stalks keep best.
It must be remembered that the collection of kohlrabi must be carried out in clear and dry weather. Stem crops are removed from the soil along with the roots, and then dried in a dark, dry room. After that, they are cleaned of soil and the leaves are trimmed. To increase the shelf life, it is recommended not to remove the root system.
Kolrabi are placed in boxes filled with sand so that the stems do not touch each other. In this form, maintaining the humidity in the room at about 95% and a temperature of zero degrees, the crop can be stored for five to eight months.
Growing kohlrabi cabbage in the open field and caring for it does not involve significant time and physical effort. Having made stocks of cabbage turnips, you can provide yourself with tasty and he althy kohlrabi stems, which are rich in phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and cob alt. They also contain many different acids, carotene, fructose, glucose and a large amount of vitamin C, for which kohlrabi got the nickname “northern lemon”.
