# harvesting Kohlrabi and Radish ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014 "2009-06-07T16:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/1 "2009-06-07T16:04:41Z")
I guess I can put these questions in two threads, but they are so closely related, I’ll put them in one Kohlrabi: I’ve planted kohlrabi but don’t know anything about it. When is it harvested? How big do the bulbs get…if I wait too long will they get woody? How do I know I’ve waited too long? I’m in southern wisconsin. Radishes: How come I only get about a 40% yield on my radishes? I never get a good crop. Most of them never form nice root bulbs, they just send out a taproot that isn’t too useful. Of course if I try to wait longer, the roots just get woody How can I improve my radish yield. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/2 "2009-06-07T17:07:54Z")
Ah, radishes, a subject near and dear to my heart. After three failed crops of radishes, I finally got a crop that actually bulbed. My first mistake was planting the seeds too close together. Now I plant them 2 inches apart. Second mistake was planting them in a flower bed. Bugs ate the second crop, the third crop only had about two plants that bulbed. I think this was due to the soil being too hard. If a radish root runs into a lump of earth, it won’t bulb. Also, even though I fed the plants with Miracle Grow, my soil may not have been of good enough quality to nourish the radishes. My fourth crop I planted in a large shallow pot with potting soil, widely spacing the seeds and making sure I only dropped one seed in each hole. Every seed became a delicious radish. I hope this helps! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/3 "2009-06-07T17:25:00Z")
Radish are cool weather plants. Wait too long and all you get is a woody hot stem. Crowding them prevents forming a nice eating root too. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/4 "2009-06-07T22:31:57Z")
My guess for the radishes is not enough water. They like a very loose soil, as well. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/5 "2009-06-08T00:57:11Z")
Kohlrabi is proof of god. If you can wait–I usually can’t–pick em when they’re about the size of a tennis ball. A little bigger is OK, but like the Tootsie Roll Pop Owl, I’ve never let one get big enough to see if they ever get woody. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/6 "2009-06-08T06:48:23Z")
Are you thinning your radishes enough? You need at least two rounds of thinning, once when they just start coming up, and once when they are a bit developed. Keep them a few inches apart. I’ve never had soil or insect problems, so I can’t help with that. And I agree that tennis ball size is about right for kohlrabi. I’m not planting them this year because I can get them too easily from the farmer’s market, and they are a low yielding crop, with a lot of space needed for only one bulb. Eggplant, peas, beans and tomatoes do better for me. But I did grow them in NJ where they were more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvesting-kohlrabi-and-radish/499014/7 "2009-06-08T14:42:40Z")
Kohlrabi = Organic baseballs