Kohl Rabi – Purple Vienna

Heirloom.
An excellent tasting vegetable that is easy to grow. The name is a German word meaning (kohl) cabbage and (rabi) turnip. This variety has purple skin with sweet and mild crisp white flesh and was introduced prior to 1860. Kohl Rabi is an edible bulb that grows just above the ground. Excellent cooked or raw. Best to harvest at 4 inches across. It’s leaves can be cooked like other greens, and it’s bulb can be cooked like a turnip or eaten raw. You can hollow out the center and stuff it. Raw it can be put in salads, sticks, and sliced, grated and diced and put into various recipes.
Sowing: Direct sow 1/4-1/2 inch deep in well drained soil in full sun in early spring as soon as soil can be worked. Keep moist during germination. Can start indoors 4-6 weeks before transplanting outside.
Germination: 10-15 days Spacing: 4 inches apart. Space rows 12-18 inches apart Days to maturity: 55-69 days
Moisture: Abundant will prevent it from becoming woody and tough Soil: rich in organic matter, well drained, moist Light: Full sun
Information: Prefers mild and cool weather. A cool weather crop but tolerates heat better than many in the cabbage family. Plants are cold tolerant and will survive in the garden long after frost. Rapid growth makes best eating. Harvest when the roots are about 4 inches in diameter. Can succession every 2 weeks until July for continual supply. Can begin to harvest as early as when bulbs are 1 inch to full size. Can be frozen.
Brassica oleracea
Heirloom.