Boc Choi question

johnp 6/9/2016, 8:43 am

I optimistically grow Boc Choi every year and every year it is consumed by bugs before I get to it. This year however I won and was able to get three uses. The plants have now bolted and flowered but are the leaves still good for stir frying? I pulled all the plants up and saved most of the leaves but do not know if they are still good.

landarch 6/9/2016, 9:09 am

stir fry has so many other flavors that I think you could still eat the leaves and not even notice. if they taste bitter raw you may get a hint of bitterness when cooked.

I've done several Asian greens and have luck with Toy Choy and Tatsoi. These are best direct seeded...plants may bolt early when transplanted. Dipel is needed to protect against the cabbage worms.

Bees love the flowers.

johnp 6/10/2016, 8:02 am

I did cook them last night and they were OK but much stronger flavor than i thought. Anyway they are done for the year and beets are going in today.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/14/2019, 8:38 pm

I like cabbage, but want something faster. I do not like kale, although it grows like a weed for me.

Looking at the catalogs; anybody have any feedback about boc Choi? Or any of the other Chinese cabbages? Suitable for a cold frame? Or they like cold?

OhioGardener 1/15/2019, 9:53 am

SR, I grow what is commonly called Napa Cabbage (Johnny's Seed Rubicon), which doesn't require a cold frame since it grows well in cold weather. I start it indoors, and plant it outside a couple weeks before the last frost date - it easily grows through temps down to 30°F or a little lower. I like it is because the leaves are edible while a young plant, providing early season greens, and when the plants are set outside they only require 6" spacing. When mature, the "heads" are about a foot tall. They are heavy feeders, and need rich soil.

**sanderson** 1/15/2019, 3:33 pm

Bok choy is a good winter plant. I just pick off the outer leaves and let it keep growing. It survives down to 28*F without protection. We have only hit freeze temps once this winter and it is already bolting with beautiful yellow flowers. November 26.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/15/2019, 6:13 pm

Thanks! I really like cabbage, not so in love with kale, so trying to decide what to grow. Anybody willing to send me a few seeds? I will trade! I will post on the seed traders page also.

has55 1/16/2019, 12:25 pm

sanderson wrote:Bok choy is a good winter plant. I just pick off the outer leaves and let it keep growing. It survives down to 28*F without protection. We have only hit freeze temps once this winter and it is already bolting with beautiful yellow flowers. November 26.

beautiful pictures.

**sanderson** 1/16/2019, 4:47 pm

SR These are "toy choys". PM me with your address if you want to try them.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/16/2019, 7:40 pm

sanderson wrote:SR These are "toy choys". PM me with your address if you want to try them.

Yes, how many/SF? I only need one square’s worth of seeds.

**sanderson** 1/16/2019, 10:44 pm

Info is on the packets I made. Very Happy

**Scorpio Rising** 1/17/2019, 8:27 pm

sanderson wrote:Info is on the packets I made.

Thank you! I personally love homemade envelopes...what’s wrong with me? Lol! OK, strike that.

**sanderson** 1/18/2019, 4:28 am

Oh, they aren't the cute little designer packets. Embarassed

Just 3 paper envelopes of seeds in a 3"x4" zip lock baggie. I wanted to keep the seeds dry in the winter weather (fog, rain, snow . . . )I mailed 3 varieties of toy choys.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/20/2019, 4:23 pm

sanderson wrote:Oh, they aren't the cute little designer packets. Just 3 paper envelopes of seeds in a 3"x4" zip lock baggie. I wanted to keep the seeds dry in the winter weather (fog, rain, snow . . . )I mailed 3 varieties of toy choys.

YAY!!! Can’t wait to give them a try!

**sanderson** 1/21/2019, 3:25 am

I hope you get them!

**Scorpio Rising** 1/21/2019, 6:38 pm

sanderson wrote:I hope you get them!

Neither snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night....

**Scorpio Rising** 5/2/2020, 10:55 am

Well I’m hooked, thanks sanderson! Next, I am going to give Napa cabbage a try! Do you cover it with tulle, OG? I’m assuming yes?

OhioGardener 5/2/2020, 11:32 am

Scorpio Rising wrote: Next, I am going to give Napa cabbage a try! Do you cover it with tulle, OG? I’m assuming yes?

No, I don't cover it. I tried that a couple times, but it seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. The Cabbage Whites aren't normally much of a problem, with an occasional attack here and there. The moths tend to prefer the Nasturtiums which are planted a distance away from the Brassicas, and I destroy the caterpillars on them before they can mature into more moths. But, I do check the bottoms of the leaves on all of the brassica plants on a daily basis to find any eggs that might appear. I also plant Alyssum along the edges of the raised beds to attract the parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in the moth eggs and larva.

**sanderson** 5/2/2020, 2:07 pm

SR, I'm glad they worked out for you.

OhioGardener 9/23/2022, 7:13 pm

This year, for the first time, I am going to try growing Pak Choi and Napa Cabbage in the cold frame. They grow well into the winter here, but they have to be harvested before we get the -10ºF temps. Since I've been successful in growing leaf lettuce and spinach all winter long in the cold frame, this year I'm going to try Pak Choi and Napa Cabbage instead of the Swiss Chard I've grown before.

Should that work?

**sanderson** 9/24/2022, 2:04 pm

If you successfully grow leaf lettuce and spinach, you should be able to grow bok choi/choy and Napa cabbage. Very Happy

How can you get through the winter without color Swiss chard. thinking

It's a winter/ spring/ early summer necessity hungry

for me.

OhioGardener 9/24/2022, 3:51 pm

sanderson wrote:How can you get through the winter without color Swiss chard. It's a winter/ spring/ early summer necessity for me.

Trust me, it won't be easy! Problem I had the last two winters was the the Swiss Chard grew too tall too fast, and the leaves got up against the top of the cold frame. Then they froze from touching the twinwall polycarbonate top and made quite a mess for me to clean up. So, I thought I'd suffer through no chard for the winter and try some other winter crops in its place.

**sanderson** 9/25/2022, 2:01 am

The toy choys should be perfect in a cold frame.

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