Versatile Kohlrabi Great In Northwest Garden

Kohlrabi is unfamiliar to many home gardeners, yet it is easy to grow, has great taste and is a versatile vegetable. The marine climatic conditions of the Pacific Northwest are ideal for growing kohlrabi in the spring, summer and fall vegetable garden.

A member of the cabbage family, this vegetable has a completely different appearance. The edible portion develops to the size of a small orange and is produced right above ground level.

Many people think kohlrabi's flavor resembles that of a mild turnip. Personally, I think it is more flavorful than that, with a taste that's like a combination of jicama and radish. It is very enjoyable when sliced and eaten with a vegetable dip.

Actually, kohlrabi is a very versatile vegetable: It can be sliced and eaten fresh with dips, used in salads, or cooked. It can also be steamed or boiled, if the fibrous skin is peeled first. Some home gardeners like to steam and eat the greens, just as some people would prepare turnip greens.

The key to growing tender, tasty kohlrabi is to grow it quickly and harvest it while the vegetable is still young. If it is allowed to mature too far, the skin should be peeled to eliminate the fibrous, tough skin. It's a good idea to harvest kohlrabi when it is 2 to 2 1/2 inches across.

Kohlrabi is an easy vegetable to start directly from seed. Two of the most popular varieties are the early White Vienna and the purple skinned variety, early Purple Vienna. The newer variety of Prima Hybrid matures even earlier. Most varieties mature in about 60 days.

Prepare the soil by adding compost, processed or well-rotted manure. Also, add lime in the area where the kohlrabi are to be seeded.

Plant kohlrabi in a bright sunny part of the garden, where the soil is well drained. Sow the seeds about 3 inches apart and cover them with approximately 1/8 inch of soil. The seeds should germinate in about 10 to 14 days. Keep the soil moist but not continually wet during this period.

When the seedlings are 2 to 3 inches high, thin or transplant the plants so they are spaced about 6 to 8 inches apart.

If you grow kohlrabi in rows, space the rows about 15 to 18 inches apart. If you grow them in beds (like wide rows), space the seedlings about 6 to 8 inches apart in all directions. The wide row method provides a much heavier yield in a limited space.

Kohlrabi can be seeded from April to early September, so the later sowings will provide a yield over a longer period. In fact, July and August seedings provide a nice yield into the fall months.

As mentioned earlier, this vegetable produces a better, more flavorful bulblike crop when it is quickly grown in fertile soil. So it is a good idea to fertilize the crop at least once during the growing season. A side dressing of vegetable-garden type fertilizer about one month after seeding is beneficial.

Kohlrabi are quite insect-free; however, root maggots can pose an occasional problem. Use a row cover of the kind you would use for cabbage and similar crops.

Be sure to control the weeds and nuisance grasses.

Fall crops can be harvested and stored in a cool place or even in the refrigerator for quite some time. The plants can tolerate light frost, but must be harvested before the first heavy frost.

Gardening by Ed Hume appears Thursday and Friday in the Scene section and Sunday in the Home/Real Estate section of The Times. He cannot respond to personal inquiries by mail but will answer questions of general interest in this column. Address questions to Ed Hume, c/o The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.