Grow Delicious Kohlrabi Easily

Grow Delicious Kohlrabi Easily

It is easy to grow Kohlrabi. Its actually easier than I originally thought. The first time I started to grow kohlrabi from seed, I learned a few lessons. The first lesson is that, they like it cool. Once I put the first seedlings in the greenhouse, they pretty much died within a day. Unfortunately, it was early in the spring. I wasn’t paying attention the temperatures inside of the greenhouse, because it was so cold outside! The lesson I learned was that it is ok to keep them cool, inside, under the grow light until I am able to plant outside. Plant after the frost is out of the ground. The second thing I realized, was that, it is a great idea to only start half of packet of seeds (to feed 2 people) in the first planting, and then plant again in mid summer to get 2 harvests.

HOW TO GROW KOHLRABI

Begin by putting a seed in a small pot filled with potting soil and a pinch of worm castings. Plant a seed in a container no larger than 2×2 or 3×3. I usually start my plants under a grow light for the first 4 weeks (see the package for your variety of seed). As your seedlings grow, transplant your kohlrabi seedlings into a larger pot. Plant in a pot at least 4 inches wide. The final transplant will be in your garden or in the pot that you want it to mature in.

Another alternative is to use seed pods. I’ve had great success with these as well.

approximately 2 weeks planted in pot

It is important to make sure that when you plant, you plant your kohlrabi where it gets mostly shade. This will help to keep your plants thriving. If you do not have a good spot to grow them without the plants getting too much sun, I would encourage you to plant them in pots. This way you can move them around (at least for the first year), to get an idea where they thrive best.

Once you transplant the seedling into a larger pot, or the shady garden space, take care to water every day or every other day. Make sure your plants have plenty of drainage. Your plants will grow in size pretty quickly. If you are growing the Azur variety, your plants will probably take about 60 days until they mature. Take the time to plan how long your plants will grow, so that you can get a good idea as to when to plant the second crop in the summer. If you need to plant your seedlings in pots in the spring, definitely do the same for the second crop. You many need to bring your plants indoors if cold temperatures come early. If your kohlrabi isn’t quite ready to be harvested, this will help.