Kohlrabi Purple Vienna is an easy to grow, purple coloured, old European Heirloom variety with tender, white, nut-like flavoured flesh. Very well suited for a late harvest till the winter. Can be harvested after about 60 - 100 days. Harvest when the tubers are about 7 - 10 cm in size. Bigger tubers are hard and fibrous and because of this not really edible. This vegetable is a "Forgotten Vegetable" in the Netherlands.
Kohlrabi is a very healthy and versatile vegetable. Kohlrabi contains a.o.: vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B11 and a whole lot of vitamin C. And the minerals: calcium, phosphor, iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, sodium and zinc. Kohlrabi contains also a lot of fibres, phytonutrients as citric acid and malic acid and little calories and energy. You can cook, grill, bake, steam, stew, stir-fry, use in oven dishes and finely chopped used raw in salads and cabbage salad. You can also make a delicious soup or mashed potatoe stew with Kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is delicious in combination with: cheese, potatoes, bacon, eggs, beef, pork, apple, paprika powder, curry powder, onions, nutmeg, haselnuts, ginger, lemon, walnuts, parsley, thyme, pasta, rice, minced meat, veal, whipped cream and creme fraiche. And with different other vegetables like: carrots, sweet peppers, courgettes, peas, spring onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. Semi hardy annual.
Indoor sowing: middle of March - beginning of April
Outdoor sowing: beginning of May - August
Germination: 7 - 10 days
Germination temp: 15 - 20 °C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Plant spacing: 25 - 30 cm
Planting position: sunny and well-drained
Harvest period: beginning of June - end of November
Sow indoors from the middle of March - beginning of April in trays or small individual pots filled with moist potting soil. Sow ½ cm deep and cover the seeds with a small amount of sieved soil. Keep on an even temperature between 15 - 20 °C to help germination. Keep moist and weedfree. Germination takes about 7 - 10 days by a temperature of about 15 - 20 °C. Keep the temperature as even as possible and don't let the temperature drop during the night. Keep the seeds moist and weedfree during the germination. Harden the seedlings of about 4 - 6 weeks later. Put the seedlings outside during the day for about 10 -14 days and put them inside during the night from the beginning of April. Put them outside after this period on a sunny, well draining plot with loose and well-manured soil. Keep the plants about 25 - 30 cm apart.
Sow outdoors from the beginning of May - August on a sunny plot with well-draining, loose and well-manured soil. Sow about ½ cm deep and rake the seeds carefully in the soil. Thin the seedlings, when they're large enough to handle, to 25 - 30 cm apart. Keep weedfree and water well, particularly during dry and hot weather. Because Kohlrabi has a tiny rootssystem that dries out fairly quickly. Apply straw around the plants to prevent the globes from rotting.
Protect the plants against birds, snails, slugs and other pests. Don't grow and put Kohlrabi on a site where members of the cabbage family have grown in the previous year. Sow successive small amounts to prolong the harvest. Cut the tubers of the Kohlrabi of with a knife to harvest them. Cut the round tubers right above the soil with a knife. Don't let the tubers grow larger than 7 - 10 cm. This to prevent the Kohlrabi of becoming to fibrous and inedible. Remove the leaves to make sure you can keep the Kohlrabi for a couple of days in the fridge.
