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Secrets Of Growing Kohlrabi Cabbage
Secrets Of Growing Kohlrabi Cabbage

Video: Secrets Of Growing Kohlrabi Cabbage

Video: Secrets Of Growing Kohlrabi Cabbage
Video: ⭐️ Growing Kohlrabi (& Why It May Change Your Life) ⭐️ 2024, March
Anonim

Guest from Sicily - kohlrabi

kohlrabi
kohlrabi

This amazing early ripening vegetable contains as much vitamin C as lemon! Our gardeners, unlike their colleagues from Western Europe, Turkey and Central Asia, have not yet appreciated the advantages of kohlrabi.

And it is grown only in the gardens of true connoisseurs and lovers of this culture, and only imported, processed with drugs that allow it to be stored and transported, gets to supermarket shelves and market stalls, which, of course, reduces the value of this cabbage.

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Temperatures, light, watering kohlrabi

This culture is interesting, its early ripening varieties fall on the table already 60 days after sowing. They are planted with seedlings in open ground, and late-ripening, which takes almost four months to ripen, are sown with seeds. Kohlrabi prefers moderate temperatures, optimal for seedlings are + 18 … + 20 ° С, but not lower. For example, if the temperature drops to + 11 … + 12 ° С and keeps that way for several days in a row, seedlings may appear with a long delay.

However, adult plants prefer coolness, for them the same + 18… + 20 ° С are optimal, the temperature approaching + 30 ° С inhibits growth. But do not think that, preferring coolness, kohlrabi is a frost-resistant plant, alas, this is not at all the case, this cabbage is even more sensitive to frost than ordinary white cabbage.

Loves kohlrabi and moisture. The soil for its successful growth must be moist, with sufficient water supply, and the greatest need for moisture falls precisely during the period of formation of the stem. But everything should be in moderation, the soil should be saturated with moisture, but not oversaturated, otherwise the growth of plants is delayed, and they may even die.

In addition to water, it loves kohlrabi and light - this is a long-day plant, a long period of illumination accelerates the growth of seedlings, promotes the rapid formation of a stem-crop, and in the second year of life it contributes to more lush flowering and the formation of high-quality seeds. If there is not enough light, then the seedlings are stretched, and the seedlings themselves are extremely weakened. Mature plants put up with only short-term weak shading.

The soil. As for soil types, here kohlrabi can be called an "omnivorous" vegetable, this type of cabbage succeeds on almost all types of soils, however, the best yields are obtained only on well-drained, neutral or slightly acidic environment, and tender and juicy stems in a fairly large quantity can be formed primarily on sufficiently fertile and loamy soils.

Remember that a lack of a particular substance in the soil causes negative consequences, for example, a lack of nitrogen leads to a delay in plant growth even with sufficient lighting, and their leaves acquire an unattractive yellow-green paleish tint. No less unpleasant consequences are also caused by the lack of phosphorus in the soil: it causes a noticeable weakening of plant growth, darkening of the leaves until they acquire a dark purple color atypical for the culture, and the stem grows smaller.

Kohlrabi and acidic soils are harmful, and even the introduction of complex mineral fertilizers does not help here; on such soils, plants have all the signs characteristic of phosphorus starvation. The fact is that such a soil structure interferes with its complete assimilation by plants.

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The next important element is potassium. With its lack, the plants become covered with chlorotic spots, which irrevocably spoils their presentation, even yellowing of the leaves may be observed, followed by their withering away. The lack of magnesium also adversely affects plants. It causes marbling of the leaves, as well as the death of tissues between the veins.

Very often, these unpleasant phenomena are also caused by previous crops, which can actively assimilate one or another element from the soil up to its full consumption, therefore, gardeners need to be careful when choosing predecessors. It is known that the best precursors for kohlrabi are all legumes that enrich the soil with important and necessary nitrogen, as well as onions, carrots, cucumbers, beets and potatoes.

It is better to start preparing the soil for planting kohlrabi in the fall, as soon as the predecessor is completely removed. Then they begin to prepare the soil: it is loosened to a depth of 7-10 centimeters, which stimulates the growth of weeds, and then dug up on a full bayonet with a shovel, combining this procedure with the removal of competitors.

The next soil cultivation is carried out in the spring, as soon as the snow melts and the soil dries out so that loosening and digging can be carried out. Kohlrabi loves nutritious soils and is responsive to fertilizing, so in the spring you can add two kilograms of humus or manure to each square meter of the garden, and in the fall - for deep digging, after removing the weeds, 4-5 kilograms of organic matter. In conditions of intermittent watering, for example, when summer residents come to the site only on weekends, well-fertilized soil can somewhat reduce the effect of high positive temperatures.

Kohlrabi feeding

kohlrabi
kohlrabi

A good effect is also given by the introduction of combined (mineral + organic) fertilizers, and most of it, usually containing superphosphate and potassium salt, is applied, like manure, in the fall, and it is better to apply a dose of fertilizers with a predominance of phosphorus and potassium in them in the spring - just before planting, or even in the hole at the same time as planting seedlings.

If the soils on your site are sandy loam or loamy, it is advisable to apply 25-30 g of ammonium nitrate, the same amount of superphosphate and 20-25 g of potassium salt per square meter in the form of dressings during the period of plant growth, but on floodplain and peat soils, a dose of potash fertilizers should be significantly increased, bringing it to 45 or even 50 g per square meter.

Soils characterized by high acidity must be limed. This simple procedure will help to improve the structural composition of the soil, and as a result, you will get a tangible increase in yield, and taste will improve - the content of vitamins and other substances will increase, the stem crop will look more attractive, and the storage period of the crop will also increase. Lime materials can also be added to the holes - 20-25 g each before planting seedlings.

Growing kohlrabi seedlings

kohlrabi
kohlrabi

Of course, seedlings are not grown in garden soil. A special substrate is prepared for it, which consists of turf, sand and peat in equal proportions, usually 1: 1: 1. Before sowing the seeds, the substrate must be spilled with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, which will help to protect the seedlings from the disease of the "black leg". Sowing seeds, in order to avoid overgrowing seedlings, is best in early March, usually from 6 to 9 March.

Immediately after sowing the seeds, the temperature must be brought into the prepared substrate (raised or lowered, depending on the situation) to + 20 ° С and maintained at this level until the first mass shoots appear. Immediately after this, the temperature is lowered to + 9 ° C, for about 5-7 days. After this period, the optimum temperature on sunny days should be at + 18 … + 19 ° С, and on cloudy days - be equal to + 15 … + 16 ° С.

The picking of seedlings is usually started when the first true leaf is formed. Immediately after the pick and before the seedlings take root, when its leaves again restore turgor, the temperature is raised to + 20 ° C, and after that a mode is set similar to the street one - with a change in temperature. In the daytime, it should be + 17 ° С, and at night - + 9 ° С degrees. But that's not all, before planting in open ground, seedlings must be hardened, accustomed to aggressive sunlight, wind and less static temperature.

You should not rush things. If the temperature behind the greenhouse is too low, it is by no means worth planting seedlings - there were times when, instead of forming a stem-grower, she threw out an arrow with seeds. The most optimal time for planting kohlrabi seedlings in open ground is early May, often the May holidays serve as a guide. Usually, by this time, the seedlings already have two pairs of true leaves, and their age is approximately 40-45 days. However, it is imperative to take the outside temperature into account.

Earlier varieties are planted according to the scheme 60x20 cm, the later ones are a little less often - 60x40 cm. If you want to get stem crops much earlier, then it is better to plant the plants in greenhouses covered with a film, and seedlings should not be planted deeply in greenhouses, in this case the stem crop will form better …

Kohlrabi can also be sown in the ground, they usually do it in late April or early May, after adding humus to the beds. The best varieties of kohlrabi cabbage for growing are Vienna White, Gigant and Violetta. Usually, several seeds are sown in one hole, more often two, embedding them to a depth of about 2-2.5 cm. After emergence of two plants, one is left the most well-developed. After thinning the plant, it is advisable to feed it with a mixture of ammonium nitrate with potassium fertilizers in a ratio of about 1: 2 and in an amount of 15-20 g per square meter.

Further care of the plants is not difficult - it is important not to damage the roots when carrying out the obligatory loosening of the soil, to avoid drying out the soil by carrying out timely watering, however, it is also impossible to overmoisten the soil too much, this can lead to a delay in the development of plants.

Harvesting kohlrabi

They start harvesting kohlrabi cabbage stalks when they reach 8-9 centimeters in size, but lovers of dishes from this culture often prefer smaller stalks, they consider them more tender and tasty. The main thing is to prevent overgrowth, then the stem grows coarser and much less tasty.

Kohlrabi can be stored after collection. To do this, you need to pick up a clean and dry wooden box, lay a dry sheet of cardboard on its bottom and put cabbage on it, and practice has shown that varietal, blue-colored stems, sprinkled with dry non-river sand, are stored longer, if, of course, all the leaves are removed first and roots, leaving only a part of the stem in the upper part of the stem.

Kohlrabi stalks, sprinkled with wet sand in the basement, are well stored, but they still need to be used as soon as possible, they will not lie all winter.

Nikolay Khromov,

Candidate of Agricultural Sciences,

Researcher,

Department of Berry Crops, GNU VNIIS im. I. V. Michurina,

member of the R&D Academy

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