Purple Kohlrabi

[bobsagget]

I ordered pepper seeds online back in October and as a freebie, they included seeds for something called Purple Kohlrabi (it's a part of the cabbage family)

Out of curiosity, I threw some of the seeds into a pod alongside my pepper seed pods and let it do it's thing. Just refilling the water/AG liquid nutrients as required.  

Here's some pictures  I wanted to share of the kohlrabi coming along in an Aerogarden Extra. It still needs some more time to grow into it's full size, but it's coming along nicely.
Definitely easy to grow that's for sure. 

December 2nd:


December 15th:


January 3rd (bulb is coming in nicely):

[Sher]

bobsagget, that is a picture perfect success!

[dianne]

So, are the bulbs of the plant going to form at the top of the grow basket? Interesting! Looking forward to seeing this project develop.

Also, I wanted to comment: I never thought of using aluminum foil to cover the grow baskets. Trying to iron (or glue, I have resorted to glue) the AG-purchased labels on the grow baskets is such a pain. Next time, I'll try what you've done.

[bobsagget]

Jan 3, 2021 21:03:23 GMT -5 dianne said:

So, are the bulbs of the plant going to form at the top of the grow basket? Interesting! Looking forward to seeing this project develop.

Also, I wanted to comment: I never thought of using aluminum foil to cover the grow baskets. Trying to iron (or glue, I have resorted to glue) the AG-purchased labels on the grow baskets is such a pain. Next time, I'll try what you've done.

Yes, the plant will form one single bulb that grows to about the size of a tennis ball. 
I actually had to cut back a lot of the leaves on this thing because the size they grow into are massive! Bigger than my head. Apparently you can also eat the leaves as well though from what I've read.  

What's funny is that I also own a bunch of those grow basket labels as well, but I use foil just because I find those labels such a pain to use as well. 

[shevraeth]

I got some purple kohlrabi seeds from Baker Creek (Rare Seeds) and grew it in my Farm last year. Worked out really well!

[bobsagget]

Jan 8, 2021 17:49:03 GMT -5 shevraeth said:

I got some purple kohlrabi seeds from Baker Creek (Rare Seeds) and grew it in my Farm last year. Worked out really well!

Yes that is where these seeds came from!
I ordered some serrano and pepperoncini pepper seeds and these purple kohlrabi seed packets were thrown in for free. 
Figured what the heck lets see how it grows!

[Sher]

I also got free purple kohlrabi seeds from them. They must hsve overstocked.

[bobsagget]

Here's a new picture. Taken January 23rd (20 days after the last picture posted). 
Getting big now. I have no idea when I am supposed to harvest it though lol. 

[Sher]

It's beautiful, bobsagget!

I can't help you on when to harvest it as I have never grown or eaten it. But my guess is that it would be more tender and sweeter when smaller, and more fibrous and tougher when bigger.

Let us know about the taste and texture. I think I would like to try growing it, too.

[bobsagget]

Jan 23, 2021 22:19:08 GMT -5 Sher said:

It's beautiful, bobsagget !

I can't help you on when to harvest it as I have never grown or eaten it. But my guess is that it would be more tender and sweeter when smaller, and more fibrous and tougher when bigger.

Let us know about the taste and texture. I think I would like to try growing it, too.

Thanks for your input!
I decided to check google and from what I could find, it's best to harvest them when they are 2-3 inches wide.  I actually pulled out the measuring tape and found mine was 2.5 inches or so lol.  

So I decided to harvest it now and then said what the heck, I am going to eat it.   

It was surprisingly good! I know most recipes mention cooking it up, but I just ate it raw. I peeled it and cut it up into slices like it was an apple and ate it with dip.  

As for the taste itself. I personally thought it was similar to the stock on broccoli. Except a bit juicier and a little sweet. Eating it raw like that was a nice crunchy snack. I imagine it would also go well cooked up with other veggies in a soup as well.  

It was a fun experiment. So simple to grow in the aerogarden as well. Really anyone can grow these with little to zero effort. All I really had to do was cut away some of the leaves when they got out of hand size-wise and feed and water it every couple weeks. 

I had to take a few more pics after I harvested it. Sorry for the poor lighting. 

[Sher]

Thanks for the excellent review, bobsagget !

Since I love broccoli stalk coleslaw, I know I would love these, too! I just need to wait until I can find growing space.

How tall did it grow?

[Shawn]

Thank you for the review

[bobsagget]

Jan 24, 2021 4:16:14 GMT -5 Sher said:

Thanks for the excellent review, bobsagget !

Since I love broccoli stalk coleslaw, I know I would love these, too! I just need to wait until I can find growing space.

How tall did it grow?

Not very tall. I never checked the exact height, but I don't think I ever had to raise the pole extension beyond the first part on my Aerogarden Extra unit. 
  
I found the majority of the leaves start to grow outwards instead of up. The leaves get so large that I actually had one snap off under it's own weight. 
Apparently you can eat the leaves as well but I never did. 

[Sher]

Thanks, bobsagget. 

[hakaku]

This is such a neat experiment, I'm honestly impressed with how well it turned out for you!