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Kohlrabi is a kind of cabbage, the feature of which is the stem, which has a rounded shape. It has a delicate sweet taste and is used for cooking salads, side dishes, casseroles. In addition to taste, cabbage kohlrabi is rich in vitamins and minerals. A small calorie makes the vegetable a valuable product in dietary nutrition. How to grow kohlrabi cabbage in the open ground?
Description and photo of kohlrabi cabbage
Externally, the stalk is like a turnip, to taste similar to a stump of white cabbage. But much more tender and juicy. It is important to harvest the harvest in time, without waiting for the ripeness and coarsening of the fibers. Cabbage kohlrabi often happens in different colors: pale green, yellow, purple, pink. The flesh of the stalk is always white or light beige. The shape of the stem, depending on the variety, may be round, elongated or flattened, as in turnip. The size of the vegetable can range from, to 1 kg. On the photo cabbage kohlrabi different varieties.
Early varieties of kohlrabi cabbage allow harvesting several times a season, but they are unsuitable for long-term storage and require immediate processing. Late grades with a competent approach can please the whole winter with their own taste. To do this, the stems are sprinkled with moistened sand and placed in basements.
Growing cabbage kohlrabi from seed to seedlings
For the early harvest, seedlings are grown on window sills. This method allows us to get stems in the beginning of the summer. Cultivation of kohlrabi from seeds for seedlings is carried out in the middle of March. It is important to prepare the planting material to reduce the risk of diseases such as powdery mildew, black leg, various fungal lesions.
How to treat the planting material:
- You need to put the seeds in a tissue napkin and hold for half an hour in hot water 50-60 degrees.
- Cool 10 minutes in cold water.
- Leave for 12 hours to swell the seeds in a room at room temperature.
- To place for a day in the refrigerator.
- For flowing, the seeds can be dried a little by holding in the air.
The sowing is carried out in a prepared soil consisting of sand and sod land in the ratio:. You can add a little humus and ash. For decontamination, the soil is spilled with a solution of manganese (1 gr. for 10 liters of water). Cultivation of kohlrabi from seeds for seedlings can be done directly in individual cups or in boxes with subsequent picking. The second way is better, because it allows you to get stronger and stronger plants.
For sowing in the soil cut grooves, at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. Seeds are laid at a depth of 1 cm, the distance between them is 1-2 cm. Top with sprinkled with loose earth and put the box on the windowsill. When there are shoots, it is necessary to remove seedlings in a cooler place with a temperature of 10-15 degrees for several days to prevent stretching of the plants. After 2 weeks, you can start picks in individual cups. Stebleplod can be grown both in greenhouses and open ground.
How to grow kohlrabi cabbage in the open ground?
For a later crop, the sowing can be carried out directly in the soil or in hotbeds-greenhouses. Pikirovka in this case carried out immediately to a permanent place. The technology of how to grow cabbage kohlrabi in the open ground on seedlings is no different from the way on the windowsill. Despite the fact that kohlrabi tolerates frosts well, at early planting it is recommended to cover plants with a non-woven fabric for the night.
For planting seedlings cabbage kohlrabi well-lit places with fertile, light soil. Good predecessors: beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions. To avoid diseases and pests, do not plant seedlings after other cruciferous. Before landing in the ground, you can make a manure compost. Fresh manure is not recommended, as it increases the risk of a fly.
For the early varieties, the distance between the rows is 30 cm, and between the plants 25. For the mid-ripening and late 40 and 30, respectively. Unlike other types of cabbage, this does not need to be deepened, since the fruit is formed on the stem.
Care for kohlrabi cabbage
A week after planting the plant on a permanent place, you can make a fertilizer with nitrogen fertilizer. After 2-3 weeks after it you can feed fermented organic. And the last makeup is made with a solution of superphosphate with potassium.
Proper care for kohlrabi cabbage includes:
- Regular watering. It is carried out not less often than 1 time in 3 days.
- Loosening the soil.
- Fight against pests and diseases.
Especially in need of competent irrigation of cabbage during the formation of the stalk. Its deficiency can adversely affect the formation, and excess can lead to cracking. It is important not to allow stagnation of water and at the same time maintain moderate humidity. For the control of pests and diseases the same means are used as for white cabbage. A special place is loosening. It helps to saturate the soil with oxygen. It is important to carry it carefully so as not to damage the stem and sprinkle it with soil.
Valuable tips for growing kohlrabi
Many gardeners do not dare to grow kohlrabi and still consider it an overseas vegetable. In fact, agricultural technology is simple and this kind of cabbage grows well in our climatic conditions.
Tips for growing kohlrabi:
- To eat from the beginning of summer until the most frosts to eat, you need to plant several varieties of different maturation period. Late ones will stay well until February.
- Before planting the domestic seedlings in the ground, it is necessary to harden for several days.
- If there is not enough room under the kohlrabi beds, then it can be planted between other crops as a sealant. It gets along well with almost all neighbors.
- Harvesting is better done earlier, not permitting overripe. Once the stem is 7 cm in diameter, it can be eaten.
- Late varieties are less prone to stalking stems.
- To store the harvest is collected and laid with the root.
These simple tips for growing kohlrabi will facilitate the process and help to get a good harvest of juicy stems.
