Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes “Delicatess Violet”
Delicatess Violet kohlrabi, turnip cabbage, purple turnip cabbage: its purple bulb grows neither underground nor at the top of the plant, but right at ground level—it is a swollen stem, not a root. Hence its appearance of an object placed on the row, bristling with radiating petioles.
Characteristics:
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Hazelnut flavor: delicate and mild, much appreciated by gourmets.
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Crisp texture: juicy, perfect raw or cooked.
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Purple skin: highly decorative, with bright white flesh.
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Rapid growth: allow 4 to 6 weeks from sowing to obtaining the plant.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny.
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Soil: cool, loose, rich in organic matter, and well drained. Soil that stays cool is essential: drought makes the bulb tough and causes it to split.
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Method: sow from March to August, in a nursery or directly in place, 1 cm deep. Stagger sowings to spread out the harvest. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant at the 4- or 5-leaf stage, spacing plants 25 cm apart. Do not bury it under any circumstances: unlike other cabbages, the crown must remain at the surface, otherwise the bulb will not form.
Care advice:
- Water regularly and evenly. Mulch to maintain moisture.
- An insect-proof netting placed at planting time prevents flea beetles and cabbage white butterflies without treatment.
Harvest advice:
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Harvest young, when the bulb reaches the size of a tennis ball. This is the decisive point: if it grows larger, it becomes fibrous and woody, with no way to reverse this.
- Cut at ground level. The young leaves can be cooked like kale.
Beneficial combinations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its short cycle makes it possible to occupy an empty bed rather than leave the soil bare between two crops.
- If left to flower in its second year, it produces highly nectar-rich yellow clusters in spring.
Uses:
- Finely sliced or grated raw in salads—this is when its hazelnut flavor comes through best—or steamed, baked in a gratin, or stir-fried in a wok. Peel the skin, which is somewhat tough.
Harvesting your own seeds:
As a biennial, it goes to seed in its second year: leave one plant in the ground over winter, then harvest the brown, dry seed pods. Be careful: Brassica oleracea varieties cross very easily with one another, so isolate your seed plant. See saving your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, without any chemical treatment. Our conviction: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
A fast-growing, crisp, colorful vegetable, well worth rediscovering raw.
