I attempt to try new garden items each year. This year, I tried two new veggies. Last week I expounded on the delights of Vermont cranberry beans. This week, it’s my experiences with kohlrabi.

Kohlrabi is German for “cabbage turnip.” But it’s more closely associated with one than the other. Kohlrabi is a member of the brassica genus, i.e. cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussells sprouts, etc. All the brassica vegetables are basically the same plant. One’s leaves form a head (cabbage), one forms green florets (broccoli), one forms really floppy outer leaves that growers tie together to blanch the florets (cauliflower), one’s stem produces a tiny head at the axillary buds.

And in the case of kohlrabi, the stem swells up to the size of an ostrich egg, or thereabouts.

First-time kohlrabi

I’ve never grown it before, but this year I bought a 6-pack of kohlrabi transplants for the fun of it. You only live once. Might as well grow some kohlrabi and see how it goes.

And an interesting thing happened. My six kohlrabi transplants turned into three knobbly orbs. One looks okay, but the others? Not so much. One transplant didn’t make it through the transplanting. And two transplants actually grew into broccoli.

How did THAT happen?

I suspect the commercial grower who produced these veggie transplants may have gotten a little mixed up. Added some broccoli seed to the machine that does the seeding. I’ve also purchased a 6-pack of purple eggplant from the same retailer (and I only assume supplied by the same commercial grower) with the result of white-as-an-egg eggplants.

I admit, I just threw them in the ground. And then I ripped them up and transplanted them to a second location, which turned out to be a bit on the shady side. Being planted near growing corn, I guess shade will happen, uh? Here’s what I should have known:

Kohlrabi likes fertile soil

And I barely fertilized this summer. Although I did lay down a nice layer of compost around mid June.

Kohlrabi likes moisture

Hmmm. Believe me, I tried. During one of the hottest weeks of the year, I was on vacation and handed the watering hose to a friend. She did a great job, don’t get me wrong. But I think I may have seen signs that would have indicated the plants needed a deeper watering. Plus, being stuck behind the wall of corn can be a hard thing.

Will I grow it next year? Not sure yet. I still have the kohlrabi in my fridge. I’ll cook it up and see if it’s worth a row of its own next year.