Kohlrabi?

[tuk50]

We purchased our first kohlrabi this past weekend at a farmers market and loved it. I thought we might try and grow a few this fall.. The farmers market was in Las Cruces, New Mexico and my climate here in Tucson is very similar, so I think it should do well.
is there any special tips to growing this wonderful vegetable? I found an article that said it would handle a light frost .. how low a temp will it handle if we left it in the garden in late fall and early winter?

[Wi-sunflower]

Kohlrabi is a "cole" crop and will tolerate a lot of frost. Think cabbage, broccoli. It actually does poorly in really hot weather.

The thing about kohlrabi is it's more than worth it to get the hybrid varieties rather than the old "Vienna" varieties. The old non-hybrids will get woody from the bottom up at a rather small stage. Before hardball size. I grow Grand Duke or Winner varieties depending on what's available. They will get as big as the large softball size and still be good. There are also some "giant" kohlrabi varieties that will get to volley ball size, but those are too long growing and too hard to sell for me.

The tip to picking out a good non-woody kohlrabi is to look at where the leaves are on the bulb. If they are rather close together, it will be woody. If they seem rather far apart, they will be crunchy but not woody.

Carol

[tuk50]

Thanks Carol, that really helps... I just bought an old vienna variety and this saved me a lot of grief I'm sure.. I'll be sure and get a hybrid... I think I will start a tray of them in July along with my brussel sprouts and treat them the same.. My climate is so hot that I can't get a good crop of brussel sprouts in the spring so I grow them into our winter which is usually only mild freezes till January.

[RayR]

I think Kohlrabi is probably the easiest cole crop to grow. It needs cool weather to get growing like Carol said. I have Vienna White and Azure Star (Purple skin variety) in the ground this spring which I also grew last year.

[Wi-sunflower]

The non-hybrid varieties are OK, don't get me wrong about that. You just have to watch them and don't expect them to get big.

For a market grower the hybrids are so much easier. And if the weather makes them grow fast you don't have to worry that if they get a bit big they will be woody. Even when a bit oversized, only the very bottom will be woody. You can still sell them because you are getting so much even cutting off a bit of the bottom.

Kohlrabi even do OK direct seeded IF you have decent weather at that time. But the last few years we've done transplants because the weeds always seem to germinate faster and then you have a weed problem.

Carol

[salix]

Tuk50 - one of the large OP varieties is called Superschmeltz. It will grow very large, but can be eaten at any size. It remains non-woody even up to about the 2 pound size (haven't grown them any larger, but supposedly they will get up to 8 or so). I prefer these because you can eat the small "thinnings" at the usual baseball size, then just keep harvesting as needed. Bear in mind I only grow for my own use, don't know how they would fare if growing for market. The larger sized ones also kept very well just in my unheated garage for several months with very little loss of quality. In fact, last year I potted one of them up in March (was getting a bit wrinkly by then) and grew it out for seed!

[RayR]

Carol, I've had Vienna's that were bigger than softballs and tasted fine, that was a wet year and Kohlrabi does best when it gets lots of water.

I've never tried any hybrid varieties, maybe next year.

I've heard of Superschmeltz, that one I'd like to try.

[Tracydr]

I love kohlrabi. I remember as a kid eating them from my uncles garden in MN. They will be a part of my garden for the first time this winter. Any good hybrid purple choices?

[tuk50]

I really appreciate all the help... We were so suprised by the flavor of the one from a farmers market that I was ordered by my dil and granddaughter to GROW some... LOL.

salix, that is exactally what I need for family use only.. start by eating the thinnings and then harvest as needed..
did you leave them dry in storage or did you put them in damp sawdust or something? I will probably try and store them in a shed that I store my sweetpotatoes and onions in.

[salix]

Tuk, I just left them dry in open flat boxes. Mind you, our humidity probably does not get as low as yours. If you had room, you could probably "plant" them in a little damp sand (couple of inches) to keep them hydrated. When do you get your first freeze, and just how cold does it get down there? They may keep perfectly well in-ground. I'd probably leave a few in the garden (along with carrots and parsnips) just to see.

[tuk50]

I live north of Tucson in a cool valley that usually gets its first freeze around Thanksgiving Day. The lows can get into the low 20's .. I have an orange tree, but it suffers freeze burns every winter. I can keep kale, collards, leeks in the garden up until January every year. Our coldest nights come in Feb and Mar.
I think I will try to keep them in something like a bit of damp sand .. your right our humidity is so low that everything completely dries out if moisture is not available. I've found even packing winter squash and root crops in loose wheat straw helps keep them longer.

[dustdevil]

I suggest you start with Vienna Purple...it is a little better tasting than Vienna White. It does well in the upper 80's, so I'd time it to have my transplants ready to plant when your temps get down there. Try using kohlrabi instead of cabbage to make coleslaw.

[tuk50]

Plan on starting them the last week in July and putting them in the garden the first week of Sept. This should give them time to get to good size before the first light frost. We sometimes won't get below 28 or so till late December. I had never thought about making slaw with them.. that sounds great.

[Wi-sunflower]

I think the clue for getting the Vienna types large is what Ray mentioned -- plenty of water. Something that you probably don't have there in Arizona.

Around me rain can be unpredictable at best. We always seem to have dry spells that can make growing less than ideal for anything.

Personally I like kohlrabi used like potatoes. I'll peel and cube a couple. put in a covered glass dish in the microwave til fork tender. Then you can mash them or make a cream sauce. I usually cheat and dump a can of cream of mushroom over for the sauce.

To add to your harvest here is something you can do too. I usually just pull the whole plant and then use a clipper to cut off the root. Quick and easier than this other way. If you want some more, leave it in the ground and cut it off above the bottom of the bulb.You want to leave a bit of the bulb "plate". Like with a cabbage, you will get little secondary bulbs form. Our neighbor showed us that trick many years ago but my back isn't up to doing the low cutting. Also you need a good sharp knife.

Carol

[tuk50]

thanks Carol.....
Your right I don't have rain.. at least not in the last couple of months.. fortunately we have an excellent well that I irrigate with.. it actually works better than when we lived in town.. it has less salts and no chlorine or fluorine added..... so I am able to control all water on my vegetable garden.
We used the kohlrabi we bought in this recipe with a few modifications..
we didn't use radishes
we didn't use nutmeg
instead of pie crust we used giant canned biscuits and rolled like a pie crust and used two tablespoons of mixture instead of one.
grandkids and all loved them.
http://straightfromthefarm.net/2007/...hing-original/