Ok, so I went ahead and planted my kolrabi, and the thing is getting huge, the bulbs are forming but still too tiny to pull the plant. The thing is, I never expected the leaves to get so big and I have some lettuce growing practickly under the kolrabi leaves and therefore not getting a lot of sun. My question is, can you eat the Kolrabi leaves and can I take a few leaves off just to thin the plant a little bit and eat them before the bulb has been completely formed or would this damage the plant?
Thank you so much.
Question about kolrabi.
The leaves look real similar to green cabbage and I know people eat those. I don't think it would hurt to steal the bottom leaves because mine have a lot of new little ones that could grow if they wanted to. Lettuce doesn't need much sun. Mine doesn't get any until the afternoon and seems real happy.
I have 2 that are a little bigger than a golf ball and all the others are at various smaller sizes. How big do these things get and still be tender? I think they can be used when they're small but I don't want to miss out if they're only half ready.
Twiggy, thank you so much. This is the kolrabi you sent me and it is growing great. The lettuce underneath seems to be growing good, so I think for right now I'll leave the kolrabi alone just so it gets enough nutrients to grow. The lettuce is big enough that I can start picking the outer leaves anyways so I can thin it out a little bit.
I just read an article online that talks about kolrabi, it mentions that the root is ready to pick when it gets a little bigger than a tennis ball, general size 3 to 5 inches. I am not sure what type of kolrabi this one is, I know that there are some giant ones out there as well, so this is only info for the regular ones.
I eat the leaves, --they are great, just don't take too many from one plant, or you will decrease the bulb size, --
Thank you Michaelp, I decided to leave the kolrabi intact since it has a ways to grow. My lettuce is getting big enough that I am taking the outer leaves to make salads and such, it seems to be growing fine. I've never had kolrabi before so i really don't want to mess it up.
I only had one kolrabi sprout, so I've been picking the leaves along with the collards - they taste the same to me.
Will kolrabi produce more than one "bulb"? - if not, I think I'll skip them next fall. I think the collards and broccoli give more food for the space they occupy.
Honeybee, this is my first year growing them so I am probably not the most adecuate person to respond to your question but for what I've read about this vegetable I really don't think it will give you a second harvest, Have you tried the bulb part yet? For what I hear it is a very tasty but yes it does get huge so I can sympathize.
Kohlrabi is just a turnip with a PhD. Most varieties are best at about baseball size or smaller. There are a couple of giant cultivars but they are rare. you only get one shot.
It was my first year for raising kohlrabi, but it was a good experience to try something new. They were harvested when about the size of a tennis ball. I oven roasted them, sliced with a light coating of olive oil, on a cookie sheet. Drizzled a little balsamic vinegar on them and served them hot. De-e-e-vine!
Farmerdill what a beautiful picture, I am definetely glad I am growing it, even with the little space I have. I concur with HossierGreen, it is always agood experience to try something new and exciting. I'll have to try tt recipe when I finally collect mine.
A fancied up turnip! I had thought they'd be more like a cabbage core but I like turnips just fine. Mine have had 3 sunny days in a row (which is rare) and really have grown in that time. I'm thinking maybe for New Years day dinner, mixed greens to go with my black eyed peas and a special treat will be the kohlrabi bulbs. Roasted sounds good.
Carmen those seeds I sent you are White Vienna.
There's a purple one in all the seed catalogs and I wonder does anyone know if they stay purple when you cook them.
I have had a few Kolrabi make a second smaller head when I cut the bulb a little high, and left a few leaf axis places on the portion in the ground, -- but most of them withered , or did nothing.
The purple kohlrabi is white inside just like a purple turnip. They are firmer than a turnip and the taste raw is almost identical to a cabbage core. They can be substituted into any turnip or rutabaga recipe.
carminator1 - thanks for your reply. I didn't think they would give more than one, but didn't know "for sure."
I have grown them in the past and liked them very much. I should have said in my post that the seeds I sowed were "old" so I was not upset when only one sprouted - just disappointed :(
I've left this one to go to seed - perhaps it'll have babies next spring :)
Farmerdill - love your comment about kolrabi being a turnip with a PhD.
Not a problem Honeybee, I am also very interested in this new veggie so the more questions the better. I think according to a book that I read that kolrabi seeds do last for about 3 years under good conditions, were your seeds older than that?
Thank you Twiggy, yes the purple ones do look interesting as well, I definetely know that they sell for a premium in the mobile's organic market so they must be really good as well.
Farmerdill thank you for the picture, by the way do the purple ones taste the same as the white ones? Just curious.
Yes, Most common are the White Vienna and Purple Vienna which have been around since Noah got off the ark. There are quite a few new hybrids on the market today. There are 42 listings in Plantfiles. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=kohlrabi&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&offset=40
More popular in Northern Europe than anywhere else.
carminator1 - The kolrabi seeds were dated 2008, but one can never be sure just how old seeds are in packets.
We grow lots of kohlrabi. I have picked leaves from the bottom when they're crowding something else, but like above, don't take too many. Sometimes when picking leaves I'll only take half of the leaf, that way it doesn't make a scar on the bulb. We like it raw in salads or cubed in stews and soups. It's a good replacement for cabbage in cole slaw if you are out of cabbage.
I like vienna white and kolibri (purple).
I have mine over crowded and it seems to be working well in that the growth rates are very staggered. I didn't have any idea what to expect when I planted them and this is just another happy accident. On the other hand, the rutabagas are pitiful from overcrowding. I think most of them will turn out to look like strings.
I will need most of my space for summer vegs by April 1. I think I will hurry up and start more kohlrabi, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, rutabagas and pak choi. It's late but I should be able to get something out of it.
honeybee if you bought them a from a reputable company they should be from 2008 as dated in the package.
twiggy I also started some of the cabbage seed you sent me and some kohlrabi as well, my plan is to plant this with my onions as well, I read all these veggies are good companions for each other so I will give this a try. By the way have you transplanted your onions yet?
Twiggy, I always get the kohlrabi too close (and the turnips). I like how they don't all finish at the same time but as I pull the larger ones out, the others grow. My rutabagas are waaaaaay too close!
Here is a photo of the purple kolibri kohlrabi taken yesterday.
Green ones, Vienna White.
Wow Calalily the pictures looks great, I am glad that I am not the only one that planted them a little too close, they seem to be growing big and strong for you. I was wondering do you grow them in the ground or in raise beds?
Twiggy I was wondering could you not thin the ruttabaga and eat the greens. You should check the picture from the plant files ruttabaga called Joan they are pretty close together and they seem to be growing very good.
This message was edited Dec 24, 2009 8:29 AM
Carmin, our beds are "modified" raised beds. They are 12-18 inches deep, 4 ft wide and 34 ft long. The sides are held up by compost and straw. The "isles" are filled with grass clippings and get deeper as we add more clippings. In the fall, the beginning of our growing season, the compost from the isles is shoveled back up onto the beds.
Here is a photo of the beginning of garden #3 with Bud digging the trenches between the beds.
Calalily those raise beds look great! I've read about them on a veggie book I got from the library, it looks like a great method better than single row planting. Did you dig the existing soil underneah or did you just place all the compost and straw on top of the existing dirt kind of like the lassagne method?
If I had more room I would definetely try this method as well, it looks like you guys have plenty of land according to the picture.
Cala no wonder you've been doing so well at market. I'd not be able to resist those beautiful kohlrabi. I did transplant quite a few on faith that I'd like them and from all accounts that was a good move. I think I need to goose everything with some fertilizer. All this rain I keep having has leached it away I think. I just keep thinking, "Thank God it's not snow".
My rutabagas are beyond help. I seriously need to get past my greed and force myself to thin root crops properly and very early so they don't start stretching. I planted too shallowly too. I got it right this time with my radishes and as a result they've been getting nice sized. I hope seeds will germinate in all this wet gloomy weather so I can get another chance this season.
Carmin, the beds were tilled first, to a depth of about a foot. We have a 6ft tiller behind the tractor.
Twiggybuds, I think you will like the kohlrabi. I have trouble thinning root crops too. Cool season stuff should germinate even if it's gloomy. I even have pepper and tomato seeds coming up and we've had more clouds and rain this winter than I've ever seen. Congrats on your baby broccoli (I saw that on another thread).
When I grow kohlrabi, I always grow the giant variety. They take up only a little more space than the regular size for the plants, but the bulb produced is much larger. I have had bulbs 20+ lbs. So I only grow a couple of them. They store well in the refrigerator and when we want some, we just hack off a chunk and put it the rest back in storage. I've never had a problem with one of the larger ones getting woody. I have had too much kohlrabi for what we want to eat! Don't be afraid to try one of the giant varieties. They are worth the space.
A 20lb kolhrabi!! Wow. They do sound like a much greater return on space. I have a friend that brings me a huge cabbage once in awhile and I use it several times as you describe. I always grow the early, smaller kind that make one meal. The more I hear about this vegetable, the more I like it. Very versatile. Another week and I'll have my first taste.
Ok krowten you've done it, :) now you must share a picture with all of us, I would love to see this giant kolrabi. Do you have any growing now?
Haven't grown any since getting my camera, so I have no pics to share. Perhaps someone else here can share their pic. Keep in mind that kohlrabi grown for weighing/bragging purposes are weighed with the leaves attached after being cut from the root. It's not hard to grow them big if you get the seed for a big variety.