DEAR News Of The Area,

IN the regular articles featured in this space about growing vegetables I would like to add a vegetable that is relatively easy to grow and does well from Autumn to Spring.

It’s kohlrabi.

For those unfamiliar with kohlrabi it’s a peculiar looking vegetable and has been described as a ‘sputnik’ – that’s if you strip the leaves from the stalk leaving them attached to the bulb which grows above ground – hence the peculiarity.

The most familiar varieties of kohlrabi grown in Australia have a purple skin and when harvested are about the size of a tennis ball.

There are however many more varieties, mostly with a green skin.

There are a few varieties such as gigante and kossak where the bulb can exceed 2kg in size.

These are varieties I particularly like to grow.

Kohlrabi can be eaten raw or cooked.

The skin of kohlrabi is peeled revealing the flesh which has a crisp flesh – similar in taste to the stalk of broccoli when peeled.

This shouldn’t be too surprising as kohlrabi belongs to the brassica genus as do broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.

These all share a common ancestor, namely wild cabbage which is native to coastal western and southern Europe.

In German kohlrabi means ‘cabbage turnip’.

It does resemble a turnip as the bulb of the kohlrabi grows above ground but unlike a turnip it’s not a root vegetable.

It’s important to harvest kohlrabi at the right time, especially the smaller varieties as the flesh can turn ‘woody’ i.e. fibrous.

I prefer to eat kohlrabi raw.

It has a crunch and can be cut into crudites, and grated into salads.

Raw kohlrabi is popular with children even with fussy eaters in central Europe where it’s a popular vegetable.

Aside from the bulb the leaves can be used like cabbage leaves.

The leaves like other brassicas are susceptible to the white cabbage moth though a little damage to the leaves does not affect the growth of the bulb which is firm and impenetrable to insects.

As you can see there are many reasons to give kohlrabi a try!

Regards,
Peter ARNOLD,
Stuarts Point.