When visitors come to our home garden they stop and ask about a certain vegetable that is not well known in America, but is more popular in Northern Europe.

Kohlrabi is a vegetable that is hard to describe as it is quite different looking.

The name kohlrabi means cabbage turnip in German which also slightly describes it. The plant produces an edible bulb (white or green) that sits just above the ground that looks like a turnip and has stems with leaves that grow off the bulb. It is the bulb that is eaten. It has a slightly sweet mild cabbage taste with a crunch.

Kohlrabi is a good source of Vitamin C, potassium and fibre and low in calories. It can be eaten raw in salads or cooked, stir fried, or roasted.

A member of the brassica family which includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, it has the same growing requirements. It is a cool weather crop that is frost tolerant, making it ideal for the Prince George area.

Plants can be started from seed or be purchased as bedding plants. At home, we start the seeds indoors in mid to late April and transplant them outdoors in mid May.

Kohlrabi plants grow best in a well drained soil, rich in organic matter. They need consistent moisture as the bulb will crack if the soil becomes too dry. Unlike other brassicas,  kohlrabi does not need a lot of space. The plants are spaced 10 cm apart in rows 30 cm apart. This keeps the bulbs small. They are fast growing and harvested young and so can be planted successively every 3-4 weeks over the growing season.

Crop rotation is an important part of growing healthy, disease free plants so do not plant kohlrabi in the same area where other brassicas were growing in previous years. Ideally you want to wait 3-4 years before you plant the same crop in that area again.

Kohlrabi is harvested young. The bulb will grow big if you leave it in the ground, but it will become woody, tough and bitter tasting. It is better to harvest the kohlrabi and store it in the fridge if you can't eat it right away, rather than allow it grow large in the garden. It can be stored for 10-14 days in the fridge.

Harvest the bulb when it is 5-8 cm in diameter. Remove the stems and roots, and enjoy. There is no need to peel it, if it is picked young. The tender, central leaves on the kohlrabi bulb can also be eaten, either raw, or cooked.

There are seeds available in the seed racks at the garden centres. Look for either the 'Early Purple Vienna' or the 'Early white Vienna'.

Kohlrabi is an easy to grow vegetable, that is certainly worth trying. If space is limited kohlrabi can be grown in containers. Children will also enjoy growing kohlrabi plants because of the way they look, and it might be a good way to have them eat their vegetables!

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Home and garden Centres in Prince George:

Highway 16 west at Kimball Road

Highway 97 north at Northwood Pulpmill Road