These are difficult times for everyone – especially when you are a novice grower and can’t call upon your usual expert (Emily)!
That’s not strictly true of course, with all the technology at our disposal these days, I’ve been able to get on with growing a variety of veg, including carrots, beetroot, lettuce, chard, tomato and, as the name of this post suggests, kohlrabi…
We didn’t have the best soil/compost, but by sieving out the worst of it (stones, large twigs etc.), it’s acceptable! We also use a finer sieve once the seeds have been carefully placed down.
Much to my pleasant surprise, pretty much every single seed came through! Mind you, kohlrabi is quite sturdy/hardy, so it would lift its way through a lot of imperfect conditions, I think!
I’m not quite sure why, but the photo of the ‘mini-greenhouse’ kohlrabi escapes me! Nevertheless, here’s a look at how I pricked them out into individual (roughly) 4″ pots…
- all the pots were filled up with compost to near the top, then pressed down (relatively gently).
- more compost was added to fill each pot to the top
- the pots were given a decent amount of water
- using a dibber, I made a hole in the middle of each pot, big enough to fit the kohlrabi seedling and it’s roots
- Very carefully, I lifted each seedling out of its cell tray, easing it out without damaging the roots (and only touching a leaf of the plant)
- it was then pressed down into the hole made in the 4″ pot, so that only the top of the plant was showing above the soil
- a sprinkle of water and that was that!
And…
It didn’t take long for them to take shape in their new surroundings: –
NOTE: After a couple of weeks in these large trays/pots, the ‘baby’ leaves of the kohlrabi will usually drop off and die, but don’t panic (like I did!), this is meant to happen!!
The kohrabi have grown since this last photo, but for now I am still bringing them inside each evening, whilst the weather outside is still temperamental – (it got as low as 1.8°C last night, in mid-May!)
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