White Kohlrabi
Delicacy White Kohlrabi is a rediscovered heirloom brassica that produces beautiful, smooth globes with tender, high-quality flesh that stays succulent even as the plant matures. Once a common garden vegetable that fell into obscurity, this curious crop has been reclaimed by modern gardeners seeking crisp, mildly sweet bulbs with a subtle apple note. Ready to harvest in 60 days, it thrives in cool-season gardens across hardiness zones 3-9, rewarding patient growers with uniform, light green spheres that perform equally well raw or cooked.
8-12 inches apart
Full Sun
High
3-9
?in H x ?in W
Annual
Moderate
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The flesh remains tender throughout maturation, a rare trait that allows you to harvest at your preferred size without worrying about the plant becoming tough or bitter. Its crisp texture and delicate, apple-tinged sweetness make it equally at home sliced raw into salads or roasted until caramelized. Bred for reliability and beauty, these smooth globes are remarkably uniform, and the plant thrives in cool weather when many vegetables struggle.
The bulb is equally versatile raw or cooked. Slice it thin for crisp, apple-sweet salads, or roast it until the exterior caramelizes and the interior becomes creamy. It can be steamed, braised, stir-fried, or pureed into soups. The young leaves are also edible and can be prepared like other leafy greens, adding to the plant's overall productivity and reducing waste.
Start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your intended transplant date. Maintain soil temperature between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit for germination, which typically occurs in 6-9 days. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in seed-starting mix and keep consistently moist.
Transplant seedlings outdoors when they have 2-3 true leaves and soil has warmed to at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Harden off plants by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days before planting. Space transplants 6-8 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.
Direct sow seeds outdoors in spring after the last frost date, or in mid to late summer for fall harvest. Avoid May and June sowings, as heat stress during these months reduces quality. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep directly in the garden bed.
Harvest Delicacy White when the bulbs are 2-4 inches in diameter for the most tender texture and sweetest flavor, particularly with spring-grown kohlrabi. Use a clean, sharp knife to cut the root off at ground level rather than pulling. Fall-grown plants can tolerate larger sizes without becoming woody or bitter, so you have more flexibility with timing in autumn crops. For continuous harvests, sow seeds every 2-3 weeks throughout the season.
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“Kohlrabi once graced kitchen gardens across Europe and beyond as a reliable, nutritious crop, but like many heirloom vegetables, it faded from popular cultivation in recent decades. Delicacy White represents a revival of this forgotten vegetable, preserved through seed-saving networks and heirloom catalogs that recognized its culinary and nutritional value. Its rediscovery by contemporary gardeners is part of a broader movement to restore traditional brassicas to modern tables, reconnecting cooks and growers with varieties their grandparents took for granted.”