Bok choy

About Bok choy

Bok choy (pak choi) is a quick Asian green with crisp white or green stems and tender leaves. It grows best in the cool weather of spring and fall and matures faster than heading Chinese cabbage.

Grown as a cool-season annual in every zone; time it for the cool weather of spring or fall. Warm weather makes it flower early, so fall crops are often more reliable.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

• Start seeds indoors: 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost

Days count from seeding; plants mature in about 60 days, and baby bok choy is ready sooner. Start seed indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost or sow directly in early spring; in the North a July sowing matures before cold weather.

Soil

Fertile, well-drained soil that holds moisture; about an inch of water a week, more in sandy soil.

Use fertile, well-drained soil with pH about 6.0 to 7.5; follow a soil test and work in compost, aged manure or a balanced fertilizer before sowing.

Feeding

Do not use fresh manure or weed-and-feed products.

Harvest

Cut baby plants at about 6 inches tall, or mature heads while the oldest leaves are still tender. You can also pick the outer leaves a few at a time.

Pick the oldest outer leaves and the younger ones keep growing for later harvests, or cut the whole head once while the oldest leaves are still tender (most gardeners do). Chinese (napa) cabbage, by contrast, is cut once as a whole head.

Varieties (4)

Only a few bok choy (pak choi) varieties are named in extension lists. Heading Chinese cabbages (napa and Michihili types) are a different crop and are left out.

Pests to watch for

Flea beetles, Imported cabbageworm, Cabbage looper, Diamondback moth, Cabbage maggot, Aphids, Bagrada bug

Diseases and problems

Black rot of cabbage-family crops, Clubroot, Downy mildew, Tipburn, Alternaria leaf spot (cabbage family), White rust, Turnip mosaic

In the kitchen

Stir-fried, steamed, braised or added to soups; baby heads can be cooked whole.

Keeping it: Wrap unwashed bok choy loosely in a plastic bag or paper towels and keep it in the refrigerator drawer for up to 5 days.

Pets: Not listed as toxic by the ASPCA