Cropedia:Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi
Source: [[1]]
Years grown at UBC Farm/LFSOG: 10 (on and off)
Growing conditions
Plant seeds between early-April and mid-May for a summer crop; plant between mid-July and early-August for a fall crop. Planting between mid-May and mid-July may produce inferior crops. Plant seeds 1 centimetre apart, 1 centimetre deep, in rows at least 30 centimetres apart. The soil should be well-drained, high in organic matter, and with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. This plant prefers full sunlight, but also requires lots of consistent moisture. Kohlrabi is considered to be easy to grow. [1]
Seasonality
Kohlrabi can be sown starting in the spring and can even last beyond Christmas, as it is frost-hardy. [1]
Nutritional Information
| Nutrition Facts/Valeur Nutritive | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size: 250mL | |
| Amount Per Serving | %Daily Value* |
| Calories 39 | |
| Total Fat 0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 212mg | 71% |
| Sodium 30mg | 1% |
| Total Carbohydrate 9g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 5g | 20% |
| Sugars 4g | |
| Protein 2g | |
| Vitamine A | 0% |
| Vitamine C | 150% |
| Calcium | 4% |
| Iron | 4% |
| * % Daily value based on a 2000 calorie diet [2] | |
Recipes
Pumpkin & Kohlrabi Soup
Ingredients: 1 lb / 500 g pumpkin 1 large or 2 small kohlrabi 2 medium potatoes 1 medium onion, sliced 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced 2 vegetable stock cubes Salt and freshly ground black pepper Sour cream to garnish
Instructions: 1. Peel, de-seed and dice the pumpkin, then peel and dice the kohlrabi. 2. Wash and dice the potatoes – there’s no need to peel them. The vegetables can be roughly chopped, but all the pieces should be a similar size so they cook at the same speed. 3. Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft. 4. Add the pumpkin, kohlrabi and potatoes, stock cubes and 35 fl oz / 1 liter of water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 20-25 minutes. 5. For a chunkier soup, simply mash the vegetables roughly in the pan with a potato masher. Otherwise use a hand-held blender. If the soup is too thick at this point, add a little more water and heat through. 6. Season with salt and pepper if necessary, but bear in mind that stock cubes are already quite salty. 7. Divide the soup between four bowls and garnish each bowl with a small ‘dollop’ of sour cream
Additional usage inventory
Academic connections
None apart from its educational value as a crop that can be observed growing throughout the year.
References
1) West Coast Seeds. (2010). How to Grow Asparagus. Retrieved from http://www.westcoastseeds.com/how-to-grow/Vegetable-Seeds/Asparagus/
2) Health Canada. (2009). Canadian Nutrient File. Retrieved from http://webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca/cnf-fce/report-rapport.do?lang=eng
3) Suite101. (n.d.). Pumpkin and Kohlrabi Soup. Retrieved from http://fall-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/pumpkin_and_kohlrabi_soup
Additional notes
Lessons from UBC Farm:
- Difficulty of Growing: 2 (on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is the easiest and 5 is the most difficult)
- Similar to growing broccoli, large varieties such as Super Shmelts are recommended(Tim Carter, UBC Farm Production Coordinator, personal communication, March 16, 2010).