Goat Foraging & Harvesting Kohlrabi

Village Farm Team,

In sustainable farming, our impact on the environment is always at the forefront of our decision making when it comes to our production methods. This is why we’re always exploring new techniques that are less disruptive than traditional tilling. Another sustainable practice we’ve been employing lately is allowing our goats to forage outside of their pens in vacant farm club plots and un-planted sections of our farm. The benefit for our goats is that they get an opportunity for enrichment and are able to vary their diet (and consume less hay). The benefit for us is that it aids in weed control and as their droppings break down, they add beneficial nutrients back to the soil.

Now that there’s a noticeable lengthening of daylight hours as we head towards spring, our chickens are responding by increasing their egg production. Due to the fact that a hen’s reproductive system is sensitive to light exposure, egg production tends to wane during the darker winter months and increase as the daylight hours begin to lengthen in spring and summer. We’ve been ensuring our ladies are happy by giving them supplemental snacks of cabbage leaves (their favorite!) and other miscellaneous leafy greens left after washing and sorting our harvested crops.

New to the harvest list this week is kohlrabi! This vegetable is a member of the Brassica family along with winter favorites like kale and broccoli. As with all members of the Brassica family, it originated from wild cabbage but was selected for over time based on lateral meristem growth (the swollen spherical shape you see just above the roots). Both the bulb and leaves of kohlrabi are edible. The bulbs can be eaten raw or cooked and have a flavor reminiscent of a cross between broccoli stems and apple. The leaves are similar in taste to collards and kale and can be prepared in the same way. Try thinly slicing the bulb and adding it to salads or slaws.