We present to you a type of cabbage with a fairly simple cultivation, which can give excellent satisfaction to gardeners – rutabaga.
This plant comes from Asia and is part of the cruciferous or bronze family. Unlike most cabbage, the most interesting part of the rutabaga is the stem of the plant, which swells at the base at ground level, forming the characteristic spherical turnip that is then harvested and eaten.
However, you can also eat the leaves boiled, so we have a very rich harvest in terms of productivity. Being quite cold hardy, it is a good vegetable to fill in the fall garden.
Contents
Preparation and planting of kohlrabi
temperatures . Like almost all cabbages, the turnip is an autumn or spring vegetable, indeed it does not like excessive heat, while it resists cold well and can remain in the open field even at the beginning of winter, until the thermometer begins to rise on approach. zero.
The type of soil. Kohlrabi is very tolerant of the soil, two factors must be taken into account: the first, common to most vegetables, is to avoid stagnation of water, the second is that a light and not too compact soil favors the swelling of the turnip. For this reason, if you want to cultivate this cross in clay soil, it is necessary to consider frequent hoeing to keep the soil loose, avoiding the formation of crusts or excessive compaction of the soil. A good technique is to cultivate it in a brave hatchery or leatherback turtle, which avoids stagnation.
Sow. Kohlrabi can be sown directly in the field or in pots and then transplanted. We normally plant the seed of dafineinverno (February) until mid-April, if we want to grow it in spring and harvest it in summer, or September and October for an autumn harvest. If kept in the nursery, the rutabaga is transplanted one and a half months after planting. The unheated tunnel can prolong the harvest slightly and is particularly useful in the north in November and December.
Sixth of the installation. Kohlrabi plants should be spaced at least 40 cm apart. to allow room for the stem to swell.
Rotations . Kohlrabi should not follow or be followed by any of the other plants in the Brassica family i.e. all cabbages, arugula, radishes.
How to grow turnips
Crop maintenance. Aside from weed control, there isn’t much you can do to grow rutabagas in the garden. It can also be useful to grass to move and aerate the soil around the seedling. Mulch is a great way to preserve weeds and reduce irrigation.
Irrigation. The rutabaga does not like stagnant water but neither does drought, the scarcity of water can cause the turnip to crack and ruin it. For this reason, it is best to water the garden often with moderate amounts of water, ensuring that the soil is always moist.
Collection and variety of kohlrabi
Collection. Kohlrabi is harvested by pulling the plant when the turnip reaches a good size. If you choose the youngest plant, the vegetable will be more tender, while a well-developed plant will be more stringy. In addition to turnip, the leaves are also edible, cooking them like spinach.
Variety. Kohlrabi varieties are different, varying in plant and turnip size, vegetable color and growth cycle. The most common is the Vienna rutabaga, in fact this crop is very common between Austria and Germany, you can find both the white variety and the purple Vienna rutabaga.