Kohlrabi: growing and care in the open field, how much it grows, when to plant, photo

Features of cultivation and rules for caring for kohlrabi in the open field

Kohlrabi cabbage, unlike its white-headed relative, is not so common in local gardens.

And it is completely in vain, because it has undeniable advantages: it is easy to grow it - even a beginner will be able to plant and care for kohlrabi in the open field - and the fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Which variety to choose

Seeds of dozens of kohlrabi varieties can be found in modern garden shops. How to choose the best and what to focus on? First of all, decide what you are planting this cabbage for. If in order to diversify the summer menu and enjoy juicy pulp right from the garden, then the following early and early ripening varieties are suitable for you: Atena, Vienna violet, Delicacy red, Pikant, Smak.
If you want your crop to be stored all winter, then choose from late-maturing maturing varieties, for example, Violetta, Giant, Blue Planet.

Kohlrabi can be both green and purple, but this is only the color of the skin - the inside is the same white flesh. Although the varieties with a purple color are better stored.

Do you also love kohlrabi and have you been growing this unusual cabbage for a long time? Share your farming secrets and healthy vegetable dishes.

The variety is chosen based on what time you want to get the harvest. Early varieties are capable of forming crops by early summer. Such cabbage can be successfully grown even in cold regions of the country. The best of them are hybrids Vienna white, Vienna white, Zadumka, Pikant, Optimus blue, Smak. Early maturing cabbage species are grown mainly in greenhouses or greenhouses.

A variety is selected depending on the structure of the soil. For moderately moist loams, early species are more suitable. Late cabbage grows well on floodplain and loamy soils.

How Kohlrabi cabbage grows can be seen in the photo. Culture is of many kinds. Among them, both early varieties and late ones are distinguished.

Alka. Cabbage has a juicy pulp, delicate taste. The variety is medium late. Planting can be done in early spring. This will allow harvesting in summer and autumn. The variety has good keeping quality, suitable for freezing.
Delicacy white. Fruit ripeness occurs 40 days after transplanting. You can start harvesting in summer or autumn. The fruits are tasty, juicy.
Gabi. Stem fruits are smooth, tasty. The variety belongs to the early, is resistant to cracking.
Viennese white. The variety is considered early. From the moment the seedlings are planted to the ripening of the fruits, 80 days pass. The pulp of the fruit is white, juicy, tasty. Head of cabbage weight no more than 1.5 kg.
Vienna blue. The fruit is purple in color. The pulp is tender, juicy, tasty. The variety is frost resistant.

The most interesting and fruitful varieties of kohlrabi can be ordered in the popular Sady Rossii online store. Place your order in just a few clicks.

Kohlrabi has a lot of positive characteristics, the main ones are the following:

cabbage contains many vitamins;
the vegetable has a low calorie content;
the constant use of cabbage allows you to fight many ailments.

Despite the advantages, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the contraindications in advance.You can not use cabbage in the following cases:

with increased acidity of the stomach;
the vegetable is able to pick up harmful substances from the soil. If you are not sure that the cabbage grew in ecologically clean conditions, you should stop using it.

Useful properties and contraindications

Kohlrabi (also called cabbage turnip) is a source of vitamins and minerals. It is recommended to include cabbage in the diet when:

hypovitaminosis;
diseases of the respiratory system;
gastritis (with low stomach acidity);
high cholesterol.

The use is contraindicated in case of increased acidity of the stomach, inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), as well as in case of individual intolerance to the product and allergic reactions.

Growing seedlings

The early maturity of the culture allows you to get two harvests a year with proper agricultural technology. The fastest way to get the harvest is through seedlings. For late ripening (autumn), you can sow seeds directly into the ground or greenhouse. The timing of the growing season is also influenced by the timing of planting, soil fertility, top dressing and various methods of care.

Sowing seeds for seedlings to get the first summer harvest is done at the end of March. The planting of seedlings on the garden bed is presumably focused on the May holidays. At this time, the kohlrabi seedling has two pairs of leaves. The seedlings are 40 days old.

Seedlings can be planted in open ground in several passes - in early May, then in June and July. If you plant in May, then in June you can get the first harvest.

The second crop is obtained by the seed method. At the beginning of June, the seeds are sown directly to the garden bed. In this case, the cabbage ripens at the end of summer. The crop can also be harvested in October. To do this, sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out at the end of June.

Soil requirements

Kohlrabi is not demanding on the soil, however, it turns out to be more juicy and dense in well-drained areas with a neutral level of acidity (for example, slightly acidic soil). For a violent growth of green mass and fruit size, the soil must be enriched with nitrogen and other elements. If there is a lack of potassium or phosphorus in the ground, then the stems will not grow juicy, and, accordingly, with a bad taste.

Note!

The best precursors to kohlrabi are legumes, carrots, onions, potatoes, beets, and cucumbers. After them, they begin to prepare the soil for kohlrabi in the fall, digging up a site with a good portion of manure and minerals.

Lighting

To make the stem crop juicy and elastic, kohlrabi is grown in sunny areas. But this type of cabbage shows itself well, growing in shaded areas (under fruit trees, near berries).

Important! With a lack of moisture, nutrients and cultivation on cold soils, the quality of the stem crop decreases, the timing of its formation is delayed.

For band sowing, the row spacing should be 30 centimeters. The interval between seeds is 10 centimeters. You can sow heap, but then you have to thin out the planting. Planting in May for kohlrabi is the most ideal time, since the seedlings receive a lot of light, while the sun is not yet baking. The first shoots with soil crops appear in a week. All this planting time must be protected from night cold snaps, sudden rains and temperature changes. To do this, it is enough to cover the bed with agrofibre.

You can get a crop two weeks faster through seedlings. Such a crop can be obtained by early summer.This method involves sowing seeds into a seedling container, and then transplanting adult seedlings into the ground. Seedling sprouts appear faster than with seed growing. However, the seedling method has one main disadvantage: cabbage seedlings have a negative attitude to picking due to a poorly developed root system.

Seed preparation

To prevent seedlings from being damaged by rot and fungi in the future, cabbage seeds undergo pre-sowing treatment. To enhance immunity, the seeds "take" contrast baths: 50 minutes in hot water, then 10 minutes in cold water. If you are not sure about the quality of the seeds, they are soaked in a growth stimulator or kept for half an hour in a solution with useful chemical elements.

Before planting, the seeds are dried to give flowability.

Soil preparation

The best soil for seed germination is loose, with good aeration. Such characteristics can be achieved by mixing turf, peat and sand in equal proportions. It will not be superfluous to add a glass of ash to the soil substrate. Before the sowing procedure, the soil should be disinfected with potassium permanganate or calcined for 30 minutes in an oven at a temperature of 110 degrees.

Note! To avoid the diving procedure, it is optimal to sow the seeds directly into separate peat cups. These small containers are filled with fertile soil. Subsequently, the seedlings are planted with the pots themselves.

Sowing technique

Seeds are sown in long, shallow grooves, the distance between which is 2.5-3 centimeters. Since the kohlrabi seeds are very small, it is very difficult to plant each grain separately, and therefore the seeds are poured in heap, distributing the amount with your fingers. It is optimal that there is an interval of at least a centimeter between the seeds.

The nursery is covered with foil or glass, creating a greenhouse effect inside. For seeds to germinate, it is necessary that the air in an impromptu greenhouse be warmed up to 20 degrees. As soon as the seedlings appear above the ground, the protective shelter is removed, and the temperature is lowered to 9. This is necessary so that the seedlings do not stretch out. After 7-10 days, the degree is increased to 15-18.

Growing seedlings

Two weeks after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings are first fed with mineral compounds. With the appearance of the first pair of leaves, the seedlings dive, replanting the strongest shoots into more spacious containers. Bushes that originally grew in separate containers are thinned out.

Advice! Keep in mind that not all seedlings can withstand a pick, so initially sow seeds with a margin.

A week before planting seedlings in the garden, they stop watering it. Kohlrabi seedlings are planted in May, when the soil has already warmed up enough. You can cover the area with a film a couple of weeks before planting the cabbage - this manipulation will create additional heat in the soil layers. Do not rush to plant seedlings - too cold ground can trigger the release of an arrow.

The plot for cabbage is prepared in advance: organic matter is introduced in the fall, and humus, superphosphate, urea and wood ash are added in the spring. It will not be superfluous to disinfect the earth by spilling it with boiling water or fungicide. Mature seedlings should have 5-6 leaves.

Bushes are planted thickened: between rows 35-40 centimeters, between plants - 15-20 centimeters. For later varieties, the spacing between seedlings can be increased slightly. Planting depth - before the first pair of leaves begins to grow. The plantings are covered with film or agrofibre on top - this way the cabbage will quickly take root in new conditions and start growing.

Note! Planting seedlings too deep can lead to a delay in the formation of stems and premature flowering.

Cabbage is ready for use at the age of two months after sowing the seeds, when the stalk reaches 5-8 centimeters in diameter.Fork weight is 120-130 grams. With a strong increase in the size of the stalk, the cabbage coarsens, becomes tasteless, and most of the vitamins are lost. Stem fruits are dug out of the ground along with the roots. The lower leaves are cut off. Kohlrabi is stored along with the roots.

Fruit storage boxes are disinfected with bleach. Only whole stems are subject to storage, without signs of disease and mechanical defects. Keep the cabbage in a cool room at a temperature of -1-0 degrees.

Fact! Kohlrabi can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.

Late cabbage is suitable for long-term storage. It is harvested together with white cabbage, around the beginning of October. Such late varieties as Gigant, Violetta, Delicatessennaya blue retain their commercial qualities for the longest time. Purple varieties are stored much longer than green ones. Fruits harvested for long-term storage are sprinkled with wet sand - this will keep the harvest up to 8 months. And if you freeze the cabbage, then it will withstand until spring.

Kohlrabi is a cold-resistant, non-capricious crop, and with proper agricultural technology, its harvest in the middle lane can be harvested three times per season.

You can sow kohlrabi not only for seedlings, but also directly into the ground

Presowing preparation of kohlrabi seeds is not easy and can confuse an inexperienced gardener. Follow our simple instructions and you will succeed:

Soak the seeds for 15 minutes in 50 ° C water.
From hot water, immediately immerse them in ice cold water for 1 minute.
Soak the seeds in Kornevin's or Epin's solution for 12 hours.
Rinse and refrigerate in the vegetable compartment for 24 hours.
Wrap in a damp cloth and wait for it to bite, then sow to a depth of 1.5-2 cm.

If you plan to grow kohlrabi seedlings, then sow each seed in a separate container to avoid picking - the culture does not tolerate it well.

You can sow kohlrabi seeds in open ground, however, this should be done not earlier than mid-June. In this case, you will get the harvest by the beginning of autumn, and this cabbage will be stored. With earlier crops, cabbage seedlings will need to be covered with agrofibre or film.

Ridges for growing kohlrabi are chosen by those on which cruciferous plants have not grown in the previous two years.

It is worth sowing kohlrabi carefully, placing the seeds in the ground at a distance of 20 cm from each other and 60 cm between the rows, so that later the seedlings are not planted.

Not sure about the climate of your region and want to enjoy juicy sweet kale as early as July? Then the seedling method of growing kohlrabi is suitable for you.

Soil for kohlrabi seedlings is prepared from a mixture of low-lying peat, humus and sod land (in equal proportions). You can also sow kohlrabi in peat tablets, or fill small pots with the mixture. The crops are covered with glass and placed on a window, keeping the room temperature at about 20 ° C. When the first shoots appear in the containers, the glass must be removed and the pots must be placed in a cool (8-10 ° C) place. They should stay there for 10 days, and then the seedlings are returned to a warm, but not hot room and put up in a well-lit place.

Growing cabbage from seeds

For a non-seedling method, late-ripening varieties that ripen 100 days after sowing are suitable. The soil for the garden bed is prepared in the spring, adding humus, compost. To lighten the structure of the soil, add peat, to neutralize the acid - lime. The bottom of the grooves is sprinkled with wood ash. Seeds are sown individually in narrow grooves to a maximum depth of 1.5 centimeters. For band sowing, the row spacing should be 30 centimeters. The interval between seeds is 10 centimeters. You can sow heap, but then you have to thin out the planting. Planting in May for kohlrabi is the most ideal time, since the seedlings receive a lot of light, while the sun is not yet baking. The first shoots with soil crops appear in a week.All this planting time must be protected from nighttime cold snaps, sudden rains and temperature changes. To do this, it is enough to cover the bed with agrofibre.

Conditions for planting turnip cabbage

Cabbage, like other cruciferous species, is demanding on heat, moisture and soil fertility. It can be planted both in a separate area and as a compactor of other vegetable beds, in places enriched with nitrogen. If kohlrabi has already grown in the garden, then it can be returned to its original place only after 3-4 years.

Kohlrabi is more successful in central Russia, as it prefers high humidity (more than 75%) and an average air temperature (18-20 degrees). She does not tolerate heat, drought and constant precipitation - it immediately cracks, dries up, stiffens, becomes tasteless. At the same time, kohlrabi, especially seedlings, tolerates a slight drop in temperature well. Although it is not worth experimenting with this - with an early landing, it is better to keep the planting under the film.

Attention! This culture reacts sharply to chemical treatment. Their concentrated composition can burn the foliage and render the fruit unusable. Therefore, kohlrabi is grown without the use of chemicals.

preparation of soil saturated with nutrients;
seed processing: culling, soaking;
organizing the most suitable climate for growth;
timely dive of seedlings;
hardening before planting in open ground.

Seed sowing dates

To carry out the first planting of seedlings in open ground already at the beginning of May, sowing seeds is carried out at the beginning or middle of the first month of spring. How and when to plant kohlrabi correctly, some gardeners determine on their own.

More accurate and correct sowing dates can be found from the lunar calendar, an assistant to each summer resident. An annually updated guide will tell you the exact date and time of planting cabbage seeds for seedlings.

Before sowing, kohlrabi seeds must be prepared. For this, contrasting baths are made. After temperature soaking, the seed is placed in a nutrient solution for 12 hours. When all procedures are completed, the grains are washed and dried.

For sowing, grooves are cut in the soil into which the seeds are sown. After disembarking, the container is covered with a film and a greenhouse effect is created. As soon as the first shoots appeared, the covering material is slightly opened. The main care of the seedlings includes maintaining a moderate soil moisture and temperature regime.

By May, each sprout has formed several true leaves, which means that the grown seedlings are ready for transplanting into open soil. Be sure to pay attention to the weather, since the first decade of May does not always provide the necessary conditions for planting seedlings in the ground.

It is very important to harden the seedlings before replanting. For adaptation, boxes with plants are brought out into the air for a while. When the weather is finally established, shoots accustomed to the cool temperature are planted in the garden. Two hours before planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly.

To harvest in July, you should start sowing seeds in early May. In addition, sowing can be started at the end of June. However, the seeds should be sown directly to the garden bed. This will allow harvesting in October.

Then the seed should be washed, kept in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Next, the seeds need to be germinated. To do this, place them in a damp cloth. As soon as sprouts appear, the seeds must be planted in containers with soil.

You need to prepare the soil in advance. It is best to do the soil yourself. To do this, it is worth mixing humus, peat, turf soil. Each of the components should be taken in equal quantities.

Crops must be covered with glass. After the shoots appear, the glass can be removed.

As soon as 2 real leaves appear, top dressing will be required. Mineral formulations can be used as fertilizers.

As for the calendar dates, they fall on the beginning of June. By the time the plants are planted in the garden, the seedlings should have about 6 leaves.

Cabbage can grow in any soil. However, acidic and thinned earths should be avoided. It is necessary to prepare the site in the autumn period. The earth should be dug up, organic fertilizers, wood ash, urea, superphosphate should be applied.

It is necessary to plant seedlings in the soil in cotyledonous leaves. It is not necessary to deeply deepen the seedlings. This will lead to the fact that their growth will be slower. After planting, the soil should be compacted, watered, mulched. Dry soil and peat can be used as mulch. From above, the crops must be covered with a non-woven material.

Harvesting and storing cabbage

The harvest time of kohlrabi depends on which varieties were planted on the site. Early varieties of cabbage ripen by mid-summer, that is, it can be harvested in July. If the seedlings were planted in the beds in early May, the fruits can be obtained earlier, in June.

An early harvest is not suitable for long-term storage - it is usually eaten immediately. Kohlrabi recipes are not limited to vegetable salads - soups and vegetable stews are made from it. For long-term storage and preparation of blanks, late ripening varieties are suitable. They ripen in late September - early October. Cabbage is harvested in cold weather, the root is not removed, the leaves are torn off.

Kohlrabi is stored in a cool room (in the cellar, in the refrigerator). In the refrigerator, cabbage can be stored for no longer than a month, and then wrapped in a damp cloth and covered with polyethylene. For long storage in the cellar, the fruits are placed in boxes and sprinkled with wet sand.

Stem fruits are harvested in a timely manner - overripe cabbage becomes tasteless, loses its nutritional properties. If the diameter of the fruit has reached 7-8 cm, you can pick the cabbage.

Dates of sowing seeds for seedlings

Seed sowing dates

The seeds are planted in the grooves made to a depth of two centimeters. After the plants have sprouted and rooted, the seedlings are thinned out and leave the strongest and strongest. Even though this variety of cabbage is rather unpretentious, it still needs proper planting and care.

Garden bed preparation

The kohlrabi planting site must be open. The maximum amount of sunlight and light wind are the components of the future harvest. The composition of the soil is also very important for growth. The soil should be well fertilized since autumn, since kohlrabi does not tolerate fresh organic matter.

So that the stems are not tough, the earth must be saturated with nutrients. Before sowing, only rotted manure or compost is introduced and the bed is treated with a manganese solution. The soil should not contain acidic impurities, and if they are, lime or dolomite is added to the soil.

Kohlrabi seeds are planted at any time. In the early stages, this is done under the film. Plants have time to get stronger before pests appear and withstand late spring frosts. And the crop can be harvested at the beginning of June.

The seeds are planted a second time at the end of the last month of spring or early summer. It will be possible to pamper yourself with a vitamin bomb already at the end of summer. To get a harvest of a valuable vegetable, in October, the seeds are again lowered into the open ground at the end of June.

To get a good harvest, cabbage seeds need to be processed. To do this, they are placed in a gauze bag and immersed in hot water for 15 minutes. After steaming, move it for a minute in a cold place. Then the grains are kept in a specially prepared nutrient solution.

After 12 hours, the seeds are removed from the solution, washed in running water, dried and placed in the refrigerator for a day. After all the preparatory procedures, wrap it in a damp cloth and wait for the sprouts to appear.

Have you already tried to grow kohlrabi in the suburbs or another region with a temperate climate and got overgrown, tough stems, bitter heads, or solid flowering? It's not about the cabbage; most likely, you just made a mistake in something. In fact, growing this vegetable is not that difficult, but you need to take into account its requirements.

This cabbage grows best in sunny areas. From soils, it prefers nutritious ones, with a pH of 6.7-7.4. However, it will grow on almost any land, except for highly acidified and depleted ones - in this case, the fibers of the head will be bitter and tough.

It is necessary to prepare ridges for kohlrabi in the fall, adding 4 kg of humus or rotted manure per 1 square meter, a glass of ash, 1 tbsp. superphosphate and 1 tsp. urea.

The best precursors for kohlrabi are tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin, and herbs. The worst option would be all cruciferous plants.

After planting in open ground, kohlrabi seedlings are watered every 3 days, then the number of waterings is reduced, bringing to 1 time per week. The maximum amount of moisture kohlrabi is required in June. Make sure that the soil on the ridges never dries out to a depth of more than 3-4 cm, but also do not flood the plantings.

After watering, loosen the aisles and remove weeds. To reduce the number of waterings, you can mulch the kohlrabi ridge with any plant material (straw, freshly cut grass, peat, etc.).

Three weeks after planting the kohlrabi seedlings in a permanent place, the cabbage must be spud, and then this procedure must be repeated after another two weeks. Even if you sowed kohlrabi directly into the ground, it needs regular hilling. It is performed for the first time in the phase of 5-6 true leaves. And then at intervals of 15-20 days.

Kohlrabi forms the juiciest root vegetables, if the ridges are regularly loosened to a depth of 8 cm, weeded at least once every 2-3 weeks

Taking care of your culture is easy. The main care procedures are as follows:

Watering. Water the seedlings sparingly. In the first days of planting on the garden, watering must be carried out every 2 days. After that, watering will be required much less often, once a week will be enough.
Note. If watering is improper, the heads of cabbage will crack, will be tough.
Top dressing. For the entire growing period of Kohlrabi, 3 additional dressings will be required. The first is carried out during the period when the seedlings will have the first 2 leaves. The second is needed 14 days before planting seedlings in the garden. And the third procedure is necessary when planting plants in open ground. For this, mineral compositions are used.

Kohlrabi cabbage is unpretentious, but still gives good yields only with proper care. Violation of growing conditions can lead to plant shoots and the formation of poor quality vegetables. It is preferable to grow it on the southeastern side of the site - this area is well lit in the morning and most often it is calm.

After planting the seedlings, the soil at the base of the seedlings is tamped and watered for the first time. To reduce evaporation, sprinkle a layer of dry earth on top of the wet bed. Loosening and weeding is carried out regularly, avoiding deterioration in the quality of the soil. Water the cabbage with warm water only. If necessary, additional thinning is carried out.

Watering and feeding

Although kale loves water, it should be watered sparingly. Otherwise, you can provoke the appearance of a fungus. In the first week after planting the seedlings, the garden is watered every other day, spending 200 milliliters of water for each seedling. Then the water consumption is increased (to a liter per plant), and the number of irrigations is reduced to one per week.

Note! Untimely or insufficient watering forms dry and tough stems, which often crack.

Watering is combined with top dressing. Fertilization is carried out 3-4 times during the entire growing season with an interval of two weeks.The first feeding is arranged after picking with the compositions of microelements. The next time, fertilizers are applied at planting. This time, a solution of chicken manure or rotted manure is added to the soil. Then mineral fertilizers are applied again.

By the way! Cabbage is demanding for a balanced diet and cannot tolerate calcium starvation.

These two simple techniques play a significant role in the cultivation of kohlrabi cabbage, but they must be used very carefully, since the root system of the plant is close to the surface and is very poorly developed. Loosening is carried out several hours after watering, mainly in the evening. A centimeter layer is loosened under young seedlings; in adult plants, the depth of loosening is about 5 centimeters.

Kohlrabi is characterized by the same diseases that affect cruciferous plants. The main diseases of culture include:

keel;
black leg;
bacteriosis;
downy mildew;
dry rot;
mosaic and others.

Adherence to the basics of agricultural technology will help to avoid the appearance of infection in the cabbage garden:

compliance with crop rotation;
seed treatment before sowing;
regular tillage;
regular cleaning of the site from weeds and plant debris;
selection for cultivation of disease-resistant varieties of hybrids.

At the first stages of the development of the disease, adjusting the conditions of detention will help to save the plants: thinning, loosening, reducing watering, installing film shelters (with frequent precipitation and cold snaps). With a strong spread of the disease, bacterial preparations are used (Fitosporin M). Against the black leg, the plants are sprayed with Planriz, Gamair, Alirin-B fungicides. For bacteriosis, drugs such as Baktofit and Binoram are effective.

It is known that many pests are reserves of infections, in particular, such as alternaria, phomosis, bacteriosis and others. Therefore, it is important to conduct a comprehensive fight against insects, destroying them in all sorts of ways.

The main threat to cabbage is caused by insects such as:

cruciferous fleas;
cabbage fly;
snails and slugs;
aphids, cabbage scoop and white beetle.

Since kohlrabi reacts negatively to treatment with pesticides, it is possible to fight against pathogenic animals only using folk methods. The method of soil cultivation with ash, as well as aqueous solutions based on pepper and tobacco, copes well with the elimination of insects.

Outdoor kohlrabi care

After the seedlings are planted in the beds in the garden or the seeds of late varieties have sprouted, planted there immediately, it is necessary to regularly carry out measures to preserve the best conditions for kohlrabi cabbage. Compliance with all measures will ensure fast and confident setting of the crop, as well as its outstanding taste and consistency characteristics that will come to light after harvest.

Humidity mode

The soil under the young cabbage should be constantly slightly damp. The vegetable is very fond of water, drought negatively affects both young shoots and adult plants. The dosage of watering changes over time, because an adult plant is able to accumulate more moisture in the tissues.
At the beginning, watering should be moderately intense, occur every other day. As you grow, the frequency is reduced to twice a week. The soil should not dry out.

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To prevent water stagnation with abundant watering, the beds should be well drained. Avoid planting kohlrabi in a low-lying area where rainfall flows.

Under these conditions, the surface of the earth grasps and forms a cracked crust. It needs to be loosened regularly, slightly spudding the plants.

Fertilization

Kohlrabi is a vegetable that is picky about nitrogen, as it grows quickly and gains a lot of stalk. However, you should not oversaturate the soil with nitrogenous mineral fertilizers - this can contribute to the formation of nitrates in the crop.It is better to limit yourself to natural compounds, for example, wood ash, which is scattered at the roots.

But if the soil is depleted, and was not fertilized before planting the culture, you need to attend to its enrichment. For the preparation of a nutrient solution, a classic set of fertilizers is suitable: superphosphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate. All drugs are diluted in water, after which the beds are watered at the rate of five liters per square meter of area.

Kohlrabi's dive

Cabbage has a negative attitude towards picking. If possible, it is best to grow seedlings in separate pots.

If, nevertheless, a pick is required, it is necessary to start performing the work at the time when the first leaf appears on the plants.

After picking, you need to carefully monitor the temperature regime, the indicator should be no more than 20 degrees. After a few days, the temperature should be reduced to 17 degrees during the day, 11 degrees at night.

For 14 days before planting seedlings in the garden, hardening is required. The procedure is to gradually accustom the plants to outdoor conditions.

Important. Do not rush to plant seedlings in the garden. Cold weather can cause the plants to develop arrows.

Origin and short description

Kohlrabi was imported from Sicily. The inhabitants of Europe and Turkey love to use it. It was grown and eaten in ancient Rome. Its stems contain potassium salts and sulfur compounds, thiamine, folic acid, riboflavin. And in terms of the presence of ascorbic acid, stem fruits surpass even citrus fruits.

Kohlrabi has a lot of advantages:

You can pick cabbage as early as 2.5 months after planting in the beds.
Kohlrabi does not often get sick and is almost not affected by pests.
It is used in a variety of diets.
She feels great in the garden next to other plants.

Tips & Tricks

It is strongly not recommended to water kohlrabi by sprinkling, as this often leads to the spread of downy mildew.
Plants should be well ventilated and get enough sun, so planting density should be observed.
Before planting seedlings, the roots can be dipped in a mash made of clay and mullein with the addition of the phytolavin bio-agent.
Kohlrabi is completely unassuming towards her neighbors. It easily gets along in the aisle of tomato, cucumber and carrot beds.
Several varieties of kohlrabi with different ripening periods should be planted at once - this will allow you to have a harvest from early summer to late autumn.
Fresh manure is not recommended for cabbage. From organic matter, it is better to use humus and bird droppings.
The Russian climate presupposes the cultivation of kohlrabi cabbage mainly in seedlings. The vegetable is grown at home in nurseries or heated greenhouses.

Kohlrabi protection from pests

The main diseases of kohlrabi:

slimy bacteriosis of cabbage (lat.Ewinia carotovora);
peronosporosis (lat.Peronospora);
black leg (Latin Syngenta);
cabbage keel (Latin Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor).

For the treatment of kohlrabi, the following fungicides are used: Fundazol, Topaz, Quadris, Skor. This type of cabbage absorbs chemicals very well, therefore, it is recommended to use folk methods to protect against diseases, and use fungicides only with severe infection, and the threat of crop loss.

With proper watering and feeding, kohlrabi practically does not get sick

For protection without chemicals, spraying with a solution of tar soap is used, as well as processing with tobacco and fly ash. Keel can be dealt with by liming the soil.

The main pests of kohlrabi:

cabbage fly (Latin Delia radicum);
aphids (lat.Brevicoryne brassicae);
cruciferous fleas (Latin Phyllotreta cruciferae);
various slugs and snails.

Cabbage fly does not tolerate tobacco solution; for a greater effect, you can prepare a mixture of three components - ash, tobacco and pepper.It will be difficult for caterpillars to hit the leaves if the leaves are lifted off the ground and tied up.

A mixture of ash, tobacco and pepper is introduced under kohlrabi seedlings - which feeds the plants and protects against pests

Also, you should periodically check the leaves for eggs, and remove them with a special brush. To get rid of kohlrabi from parasites, insecticides are used: Karate, Rovikurt, Decis, Corsair.

Pests and diseases

Many diseases and pests can damage cabbage. The most dangerous are the following:

Cabbage aphid. Often found in cabbage beds. Insects are small, their size is only 2.5 mm. The pest damages the ground part. As a result, a slower growth of the culture is observed, the leaf plates are covered with a white bloom and lose their green color.
To protect crops from aphids, it is necessary to clean the area of weeds in a timely manner. In addition, the treatment of crops with special compounds helps to get rid of pests.
Belyanka. It is also a dangerous pest that feeds on cabbage leaves. If you remove the weeds from the site in time, dig up the ground in the fall, treat the crops with special preparations, the insect will not be able to do harm.
You can also use folk wrestling methods. To do this, take 20 grams of mustard powder, combine with 2 liters of water, let it brew for 48 hours. The resulting solution must be filtered. Before using the product, you need to add more water. The affected plants are treated with a liquid.
Cabbage fly. How to grow Kohlrabi cabbage in the garden is of interest to many summer residents. First of all, it is worth protecting crops from the pest. The fly can be up to 8 mm long. The insect damages the root part, stems. You can get rid of the pest by digging up the earth in the autumn, harvesting weeds from the site, treating crops with solutions such as Ambush, Rovikur.
Downy mildew. The first sign of the disease is the appearance of light yellow spots and white bloom on the leaf plates. The fungus develops through seeds. To protect the crop from powdery mildew, it is necessary to carefully process the seed before planting.

Kohlrabi, like all types of cabbage, is constantly attacked by pests. The cabbage scoop is especially active with this type of vegetable. The parasite is very dangerous and can destroy the future harvest at an early stage.

To prevent it, they regularly make a round and inspect the leaves of the vegetable crop. At the first signs of infection, urgent measures are taken and treatment is carried out. The culture is susceptible to chemicals, it is better to control pests with proven folk methods.

You can collect pests by hand, but this is a rather laborious process, although it is environmentally friendly. In the initial stage, the affected cabbage is sprayed with infusions of onion husks, burdock or a solution of soap and ash is prepared. To rid the plant of slugs, pieces of roofing material are spread under the bushes. Slugs collect on the underside of the leaf, after a while they can be collected and destroyed.

But if the cabbage has signs of diseases, such as black leg, keela or downy mildew, folk methods are no longer enough - more serious means must enter the fight. There are quite a lot of chemicals; if used correctly, they do not harm humans and the environment.

In this regard, kohlrabi is no different from other varieties of cabbage, and all crucifers. It can also be affected by keela, vascular and mucous bacteriosis, rot, powdery mildew and black leg. Less common, but still possible, lesions such as alternaria, "leucorrhoea", mosaic, tracheomycosis and black ring spot.

Kohlrabi stricken with gray rot

Among the pests, more than a dozen insects can be called, however, most often, kohlrabi plantings are affected by cruciferous and black fleas, petiolate mosquito, wireworm, tobacco thrips, scoops, spring cabbage fly, cabbage whitefish, rape flower beetle, cabbage bug, slugs, bear, cabbage aphid.

The best protection for kohlrabi ridges from diseases and pests will be compliance with crop rotation and competent agricultural technology.

All cruciferous plant residues should be removed from the ridges and, if possible, from the site.
Seeds must be bought from trusted companies, and before sowing, warm or pickle.
After harvesting, the soil on the ridges needs to be dug deeply.
All weeds must be removed in a timely manner, not allowing them to drown out cultural plantings.

If this does not work, and your kohlrabi was attacked by diseases or pests, you can use industrial means to combat them.

To get rid of insects, insecticides Ambush, Decis, Karate, Rovikurt, Corsair, etc. are suitable.

The fungicides Quadris, Fundazol, Skor, Topaz will cope with fungal diseases.

Well, if your plantings are affected by bacterial diseases, then all the affected plants will have to be removed and disposed of (not in compost), spill the ridge in this place with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate and this year nothing should be planted on it.

What are the characteristics of kohlrabi cabbage

The second name of the plant is cabbage turnip, since in its appearance it looks like an ordinary turnip. The plant is two years old. Leaves and stems are edible (stem with a thickening in the form of an oval).

The stemfruit can be golden, green, purple or white. Taking into account the variety, the mass of cabbage turnip is 140-750 g. The foliage is mainly of an emerald hue. The pulp tastes like a common cabbage stump, but the fruit is not as firm. It is sweetish, tender, slightly oily, without bitterness.

In the first year after planting, the plant stem develops. The next year, a shoot appears on it, where a flower brush is located at the end. When flowering is complete, the fruit ripens in the form of a pod.

Testimonials

Tatyana, 42 years old: “I have been growing Kohlrabi cabbage in the open field for many years. Usually there are no difficulties. Easy maintenance and good harvest makes you pay attention to the culture. However, crops are often infested with pests. Therefore, plants must be treated with chemicals in a timely manner. "

Kohlrabi is often found at their summer cottage. Many gardeners appreciate the culture for its beneficial properties and easy care. However, you can get a good harvest only if you follow the cultivation technology.

Description of culture

Kohlrabi is a biennial from the Cruciferous family. The main feature of the plant is that its stem develops faster than the head of cabbage. Its lower part thickens, acquiring a spherical shape. It is he who is eaten.

The stembled tastes like a cabbage stump, but it has more juice and sweetness. It can be painted in different shades - beige, green and even purple, depending on the variety. Kohlrabi leaves are oval, dark green, growing in the upper part of the stem on long petioles. The culture develops well in regions with cool climates.

Reference. Kohlrabi cabbage leaves are also edible, they are added to salads, used for cooking soups and for making pancakes.

Is it possible to loosen and huddle kohlrabi

Caring for this variety of cabbage consists in the regular implementation of simple actions, after which it grows safely from start to finish:

loosening the soil under it: constant loosening of the row spacings is carried out to a depth of 5 cm, while the earth should not touch the base of the stem;
weeding: the weeds are plucked, it is impossible to huddle up because of the fear of cracking and wormholes on the turnips;
watering: a strengthened plant accumulates water in itself and therefore kohlrabi at this stage no longer needs daily watering, as much as she needs, she will take it herself once every 3-4 days, this scheme is the most optimal.

How to deal with pests

The fight against pests and garden diseases is carried out by the same means that you use in caring for white cabbage.

These can be cruciferous fleas, which form colonies that can destroy seedlings in the early stages of planting in the ground, if not monitored. Young shoots, on which fleas have appeared, must be promptly treated with wood ash or tobacco powder, crushed into dust.

You can use a mixture of ash and tobacco in a 1: 1 ratio: scatter it through a sieve over the seedlings. The procedure is best done in the morning, at least 3 days. We recommend repeating the procedure 2-3 more times, with an interval of 5 days.