Questions on: Kohlrabi Ron Smith, Horticulturist, NDSU Extension Service

Q: Can you tell me how to produce a fall crop of kohlrabi? (Berkley, Mich.)

A: You can grow a fall crop of kohlrabi if you set the plants out in mid- to late-August. As with other members of the cabbage family, it can tolerate the initial light frosts of fall, and you can throw a light cover over them when a heavier frost is expected.

Q: Can you save seed for the next year from kohlrabi, turnips, radishes, carrots, rutabagas and bushbeans? Will inbreeding be a problem? I also would like some information on how to keep squirrels out of my garden. (Berkley, Mich.)

A: I've only saved seeds from beans and carrots before, and it didn't seem to be worth the effort on the biennial plants. But, if you would still like to, here is the information I was able to find.

For bush beans, which are annuals, you must allow the pods to reach full maturity and dry up. You can harvest the seeds in early fall/late summer from the dried pods.

Carrots, which are biennials, take two growing seasons to get seeds. Store the carrots after the first season in a cool, dry place without their tops. Replant the root in the spring and it will send up a flowery stalk. This will set seed in late summer. Collect seed after it dries up.

Radishes, which are annuals, flower the same season, sending up a long flowering stalk—but I've never seen the seeds.

For turnips, kohlrabi and rutabagas, which are biennials, you must dig up roots after the first year and replant the second year. They will then send up a flowering stalk the second year.

Use Ro-pel to keep squirrels out. Ro-pel is used to keep rodents away. Spray on your plants once a year, but make sure not to spray it on any edibles! Other things to try include hot pepper spray and cheap men's colognes.

Good luck and thanks for writing!

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