Last edited on November 30, 2019. View history
Kohlrabi
A variety of cabbage
How to sow kohlrabi: Direct seed, thin to 10cm apart when seedlings are 2-5cm tall
Sun requirement for kohlrabi: Plant in Full Sun
Kohlrabi is a low, stout cultivar of cabbage that has a swollen, almost spherical stem with leaves sprouting off the top. The stem can be light green, white, or purple. Both the stem and leaves are edible. The stem's taste and texture is similar to a broccoli stem or cabbage heart, but milder and sweeter. Younger stems can be as crisp and juicy as apples, but much less sweet. Older stems tend to be woody. Like other members of the Brassica family, kohlrabi prefers mild, cool weather.
- 6
- plantings
- 3
- harvests
- 3
- seed packets
Kohlrabi facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
20cm × 30cmRow Spacing
10cmGermination
3–10 days median of members' seed packetsDays until maturity
55–75 days median of members' seed packetsWhen to sow
Grown for
stem harvested 2 timesCrop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For kohlrabi, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 7°C and a shortest growing cycle of 60 days at its best temperature, about 750 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your kohlrabi will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing kohlrabies
- Sow seeds in trays 5 weeks before planting out
- Dig compost into the bed 1 week before planting out
- Harden off the seedlings 1 week before planting out
- Firm the soil well around the stems at planting out
- Net against cabbage white butterflies at planting out
- Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails at planting out every week
- Water regularly at planting out every week
- Check leaves for caterpillars 2 weeks after planting out every week
- Feed with a nitrogen fertiliser 4 weeks after planting out
- Cut heads once they feel firm at first harvest
- Pull out the stalks 4 weeks after first harvest
How members grow kohlrabies
Sunniness
Planted from
Harvested for
Plant kohlrabies with
cauliflower
german chamomile
cumin
blue lake bean
Photos
Photos
Kohlrabi plantings
Kohlrabi harvests
Video
Where kohlrabies grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about kohlrabies
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Who's planted kohlrabies
- CloCkWeRX 9 - Rosewater Backyard Right · Rosewater, South...
- Lemony Garden · Reading England
- shiny back yard shaded garden · Wellington, NZ
- Spadix Bottom patch strip
- jtamhart Garden · Belle Plaine, MN
Kohlrabi harvests
-
shiny harvested not specified.
almost 7 years ago
-
shiny harvested not specified.
about 7 years ago
-
Skud harvested 1, weighing 0.18 kg.
about 12 years ago
shiny harvested not specified.
Find kohlrabi seeds
View all kohlrabi seeds
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 60 to 200 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. [Alef.]
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Dilleniidae Capparales Cruciferae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: -1 °C, rest: -10 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | biennial |
| Habit | acaulescent (or rosette plants) |
| Optimal soil depth | shallow (20-50 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
Learn more about kohlrabies
Resources outside Growstuff.
