Methods for growing Chinese pak choi. Use in cooking

If you are tired of everyday familiar dishes, try cooking something unusual using not the most famous and common products, such as pak choi. You can make a lot of interesting things out of it if you know how.

What it is?

Pak choy or bok choy is one of the varieties Chinese cabbage. This type differs from others in that it does not have heads of cabbage. Around the central main kidney formed smooth green leaves with thick and dense stems. If the name is translated, it will sound like "white vegetable", and it is especially popular in South-East Asia, but also pak choi is actively grown and consumed in North America and Europe.

Fun fact: Pak choi is a close relative of Beijing cabbage, but the two varieties are very different.

Product benefits

The composition of Chinese cabbage includes a lot of different useful substances, for example, fiber, protein, ash, carbohydrates, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, as well as vitamins A, K, PP, C and group B. The calorie content of 100 grams of such a product is only 13 kilocalories.

Beneficial features:

Normalization of peristalsis of the intestinal walls, getting rid of constipation.
Removal of toxins and toxins, cleansing the body.
Prevention of atherosclerosis: lowering the level of "bad" cholesterol, cleansing blood vessels and strengthening their walls.
Performance improvement immune system, strengthening the body's defenses and increasing its resistance to attacks by pathogenic microorganisms.
Chinese cabbage can contribute to weight loss, as it is low in calories, satisfies hunger and gives a feeling of satiety, and also normalizes metabolic processes.
Vitamin K normalizes blood clotting, if it is lowered, stops bleeding.
B vitamins take part in many reactions and metabolic processes in the body and ensure uninterrupted operation. nervous system improving mood and sleep.
Vitamin A is good for the skin and helps maintain visual acuity.
Pak choy is useful during pregnancy: this product provides correct formation fetal organs.
Chinese cabbage is good for the heart.
Pak-choi has an antioxidant effect: it neutralizes the activity of free radicals, stops the oxidation and aging of tissues, and prevents cell malignancy.

How to choose and store Chinese cabbage?

When choosing pak choi, pay attention to the leaves: they should be of medium size (length no more than 13-15 centimeters) and rich green tint and also be smooth and fresh. Unpleasant odor is not allowed.

Chinese cabbage is stored in the refrigerator. You can also separate and wash the leaves and wrap them in a damp cloth.

Can cabbage hurt?

Contraindications to the use of Chinese cabbage include individual hypersensitivity to such a product and exacerbation of organ diseases. gastrointestinal tract. Also, do not abuse it: glucosinolates are found in pak choi, which in high doses can have a toxic effect on the body. But moderate use certainly won't hurt.

What to cook with pak choi?

Pak choi cabbage is widely known in Asian countries and is actively used to cook the most different dishes. And you, too, can do something interesting by studying the recipes below.

Healthy light salad

Here's what you'll need:

300 g pak choi;
two medium-sized carrots;
onions (you can take purple or white);
half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard;
two st. l. rice vinegar;
a quarter or a third of a small spoon of salt;
tsp honey.

Cooking:

First you need to wash the cabbage, divide it into leaves and cut them.
Carrots are washed, if necessary, cleaned of the remnants of the earth and rubbed on a coarse grater or divided into thin straws using a special knife.
Onion should be cut into thin half rings.
Mix honey with Dijon mustard, salt and toffee vinegar. This is a kind of sauce.
Combine all the ingredients, season them with sauce and mix the salad.

Braised spicy pak choi

If you want to get an unusual and very spicy side dish, then you will need to prepare the following products:

700 g pak choi;
three st. l. olive oil;
two cloves of garlic;
10-15 g of fresh ginger root;
five st. l. natural classic soy sauce;
ground pepper.

Process description:

Prepare Chinese cabbage: divide into leaves, wash thoroughly, dry, chop if necessary, but not very finely.
Ginger needs to be either finely chopped or grated. Garlic is peeled and crushed in any way.
In a frying pan, heat the oil well, put the garlic and ginger in it and fry for literally a minute.
Then lay out and pak-choi. Fry all products for about five minutes until barely noticeable golden, and then simmer under the lid for about five minutes.
Pour in soy sauce and add pepper, stew the dish for about a minute. The pak choi leaves should darken and completely soften.

Pak choi and mushroom snack

To prepare a snack for every day or for festive table, you can also use unusual pak choi. Here's what you need for this:

800 g pak choi;
400 g mushrooms (it is best to use fresh champignons);
three cloves of garlic;
two st. l. olive oil (usual sunflower oil is suitable);
Art. l. sesame oil;
two st. l. sesame seed;
five st. l. wine vinegar;
ground pepper;
salt.

Preparation description:

Mushrooms must be thoroughly washed and cut into not very thin slices.
Garlic is peeled, crushed, for example, passed through a press.
Pak choi is divided into separate sheets, washed and dried, after which it is cut (small leaves can be left whole).
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan.
Warm up olive oil, put mushrooms with garlic in a pan, fry for a couple of minutes.
Then add Chinese cabbage and fry all foods until fully cooked and pronounced golden.
Add salt, sesame wine vinegar, sesame oil and pepper, hold everything under the lid for a minute and turn off the heat.
When the appetizer has cooled down a bit, you can serve it to the table.

If you find an unusual Chinese pak choi in the store, then be sure to purchase it and try to cook something interesting and appetizing.

Another miracle that came to us from China is pak choi (bok choy). This unpretentious, healthy, nutritious and at the same time low-calorie culture is characterized by excellent germination and simple care, thanks to which it is readily cultivated in many parts of the world. A stable harvest can be obtained without special investments funds, time and effort. How to grow this cabbage in your area and what is it all about?

Pak choi cabbage - description

Although it is a close relative of the white cabbage we are used to, Beijing pak choi does not form heads and is more like lettuce greens. It belongs to early ripening crops - already 30 days after planting, it fully ripens. In the warm Asian climate, they manage to grow it several times per season. AT middle lane if desired, you can get up to two crops. In heated greenhouses, pak choi can grow all year round.

Pak choi's main attraction is its great benefit for human health. Cabbage leaves contain a high concentration of amino acids, vitamins, especially vitamin C, and other useful mineral compounds that have a beneficial effect on health, well-being and help prolong the youth of the body. It can be used in food as an additive to various salads and as a side dish for fish and meat.

Pak-choi - varieties

Chinese pak choi is becoming more and more popular in our area, and if you want to try growing it on your site, it is extremely important to know which varieties are suitable for cultivating it in our climate. There are some of the most successful varieties this plant. early varieties:

"Alyonushka";
"Vesnyanka";
"Dove";
"Coral".

Mid-season pak choi varieties:

"Martin";
"Peahen";
"Swan";
"Yula";
"In memory of Popova";
"Cold";
"Beijing Surprise";
"Four Seasons".

Planting bak choi

Pak choi cabbage has its own characteristics of cultivation, different from those used in the cultivation of ordinary cabbage. The most pleasant difference is the possibility of growing it on poorly fertilized soil. In general, pak choi is unpretentious to the composition of the land in which it is grown. Another feature is that Beijing pak-choi does not tolerate transplanting well, so it is better to sow it directly into the ground. Within a month you will be able to harvest your first finished crop.

How to plant pak choi

The most common method is seed. How to grow bak choi from seeds? It is necessary to wait for stable heat and warming up of the soil, after which, on the bed, first make grooves up to 3 cm deep with a distance between rows of about 30 cm. After sowing, the bed must be covered with a film until the first shoots appear. If you grew seedlings from seeds, the time to transplant them to permanent place growth occurs with the appearance of the fifth leaf on it.

When to plant pak choi?

Depending on whether you plant seeds directly into the ground or first grow seedlings at home in a greenhouse, the timing of planting seeds varies significantly. AT open ground seeds can be sown in early June. If you still want to grow cabbage in seedlings, the seeds should be sown at the end of March. Planting pak-choi in this case is accompanied by extremely careful transshipment of seedlings to a permanent place of growth along with an earthen clod due to poor survival of seedlings.

Growing pak choi

Growing Chinese pak choi cabbage is an easy and somewhat exciting task. Short maturation periods and simple care, which consists in observing the regimes of irrigation, loosening and weeding, makes the plant welcome guest in our beds. The only negative feature that pak choi cabbage from China has is its predisposition to shoot and bloom with increasing daylight hours. Therefore, it is preferable to grow it in early summer. If the shooting has already happened, the arrows with flowers must be cut with a pruner.

Chinese pak choi - soil

No complex soil preparation is required to grow bok choi on the site. Most The best way: dig the soil in the fall, combining this process with the introduction of fertilizers into it - organic and phosphate. The amount of fertilizer should not exceed 10 liters for each square meter earth. Light liming of the soil will not be superfluous. In order to speed up the process of warming up the beds in the spring, you can cover them with a dark film in early March. The thawed earth must be dug up again and brought into it.

Pak choi cabbage - watering

Watering this crop should be plentiful and regular. It is not necessary to heavily fill it with water, but it is also undesirable to allow the soil to dry out. Active watering at the stage of tying rosettes is extremely important. How to grow pak choi outdoors: it only needs to be watered during periods prolonged absence precipitation. The irrigation rate is 15-20 liters per square meter. For irrigation, it is better to use warm water.

Peking cabbage pak choi - top dressing

The best feeding of this crop is the use of mineral fertilizers in the right proportions, the violation of which leads to deterioration palatability. Replace mineral fertilizers you can ash in the amount of 1 cup per square meter. When growing pak choi cabbage from seeds, the following proportions of dressings are used:

potash fertilizers - 20 g per square meter;
ammonium nitrate - 15 g for each square of land;
double superphosphate - 20 g per square meter.

Pak choi cabbage - diseases and pests

Having wondered how to grow pak-choi cabbage in the country, you need to be prepared to resist diseases and pests that claim their share of the crop. The most common bak choi pests are:

They are able to completely destroy the cabbage. Prevention of their appearance consists in frequent loosening and abundant watering of the plant - insects do not tolerate high humidity. A good result is the sprinkling of cabbage leaves with wood ash and tobacco infusion. You can use the Kinmiks remedy for cruciferous fleas, which must be diluted with water in accordance with the attached instructions. Spray their beds better in the morning or in the evening.

Garden and rain snails. They can be harvested by hand or caught with baits based on alcohol infusion and bran. A good result shows the drug "Rodax".

Cabbage white. At the stage of formation of cabbage leaves, they should be regularly inspected for the presence of cabbage whites and their eggs. They are located on the back of the leaves. If they are found, the urgent removal of all eggs and their destruction is required.

Pak choi is not prone to most of the diseases characteristic of plants of the cabbage family. In addition, there are varieties that are especially resistant to diseases and pests. For example, the Gipro F1 variety is unpretentious, resistant to diseases, pests and frosts. In general, if the growing conditions of this crop are observed, most problems associated with diseases and pests can be avoided.

Chinese pak-choi cabbage, the cultivation of which is not particularly difficult for any summer resident, nevertheless differs in some nuances from the cultivation of its other relatives. This early ripening petiole cabbage is capable of yielding crops in our latitudes several times a season, ripening within a month from the moment of planting. And the fact that pak choy can be eaten at any stage of plant development, without waiting for the petioles to fully fill, makes it even more attractive.

When to plant pak choi?

Pak choi can be sown in a conveyor way from April to August, grown through seedlings or direct seeding in the ground. But most gardeners prefer to sow pak choy in re-sowing in July and August.

In the middle of summer, beds are vacated from under onions, garlic and other crops, and gardeners just have time to grow a crop of 2-3 conveyor plantings of pak-choi. By the way, July plantings bring largest harvest, besides, the tying of flower arrows during this period is minimized, and pests are noticeably reduced.

Place to land

Pak-choy likes a cool climate, sun or partial shade, high humidity air, fertile land, but at the same time it is quite normal for medium and low-fertilized lands.

predecessors

When choosing a bed for planting pak-choy, it is important to take into account the rules of crop rotation, correctly determine good predecessors will be: onions, annual legumes, early cereals, pumpkin. All types of cabbage are considered the worst predecessors for pak choi, since in this case the risk of plant damage by pests and diseases common to this family is greatly increased.

Garden preparation

Land for planting is recommended to prepare in advance. For spring planting the best time to do this is in the fall. Dig up the earth with simultaneous incorporation or fertilization. When re-planting, it is not necessary to dig, it is good enough to loosen and get rid of weeds. It is useful to add organics at the rate of 1 bucket per square meter. acidic soils can be corrected by adding wood ash(200 g/m2). Level the bed carefully.

Sowing bak choi seeds

Use a marker to prepare holes for planting bak choi. The feeding area of one unit is 30X30 cm. For small specimens, 20X20 cm will be enough. Accordingly, the planting pattern of pak-choi will be 20-30X25-35 cm, depending on the variety. Pak choi seeds should be planted in prepared holes to a depth of 2-3 cm.

If you prefer to grow pa choi through seedlings, which is quite favorable for getting a spring super early harvest pak-choi in a greenhouse, then plant it in the same way - both sprouts and maturing plants with such a planting will have enough light and nutritional area.

Caring for pak choi

Caring for pak choi, as well as growing it in general, does not require much effort and skills:
- periodically loosen the soil, but do it carefully so as not to damage the roots, which are close to the surface of Chinese cabbage,
- timely remove weeds.
- Watering should be timely, sufficient, but no frills: do not flood the ground, but also prevent it from drying out. The average watering rate in August-September is 15-20 liters per square meter. A little more water will be needed during the period of tying rosettes.
- Pak choy top dressing is aimed at activating growth and increasing the expected yield. During the growing season, it is recommended to feed the plant once or twice with a liquid herbal solution or mullein infusion. It is important to provide top dressing after prolonged rains.

Ash solution will also be useful for plants:
(Recipe 1. Stir 30 g of wood or straw ash in a liter of water and heat to a boil
Recipe 2. In 1 l hot water dilute half a glass of ash, leave for 3-5 days, stirring daily. On the last day, let the solution settle, drain and strain). Soap should not be added to the solution, because soon the leaves will go to food. Let me also remind you that the underside of the leaf absorbs top dressing better.

Harvesting

Harvesting bak choy is possible at every stage of plant development, from the appearance of sprouts to the formation of flower arrows. The grown cabbage is cut at a height of 2-3 cm above ground level, adult specimens are slightly higher.

Pak choi storage

It is advisable to use juicy greens immediately - pak choi, unfortunately, is not adapted to long-term storage. You can somewhat extend the period of use if you store the leaves and petioles separately in the refrigerator, after wrapping them in paper and placing them in plastic bags.

Pak-choi, the cultivation and care of which we have mastered today, has a lot of useful and medicinal properties that contribute to the normal functioning of the cells of our body, especially if this cabbage is cooked and served correctly.

And high nutritional properties many of our country began mass cultivation of this variety of cabbage. About secrets proper fit and caring for pak-choi, we will talk in the article.

Description of culture

Mid-season varieties include Lebedushka, Lastochka, Kholodok, Four Seasons, Memory of Popova. growing season mid-season varieties 50-55 days.

Did you know? in Asian countries with ok pak choi is used in cosmetics. It is an excellent skin rejuvenator.

bak choy not particularly demanding on the soil. It can grow even in an unfertilized area. But the best place for planting will be sandy loam or light loam. Soil acidity should range from 5.5 to 6.5 pH. The best predecessor is . Planting pak choy in a place where another variety grew last year is not recommended.

It is also undesirable to plant bok choy in one place for more than two years in a row.

How to plant pak choi in the country

Now we will understand the main question: how to grow pak choi at home? Growing begins with planting.

Planting and caring for seedlings

To grow seedlings, cabbage seeds are planted in peat cups in late March - mid April. Soil for seedlings can be mixed with humus for better seed germination.
After planting, water the seeds with water (cold watering is undesirable). Seedling pots are best placed in a sunny spot.

Every four to five days, the seeds should be watered with water, the temperature of which is not lower than 15ºС. After 15-20 days, when three leaves are formed on the seedlings, it needs to be sprinkled.

Pour a little earth under each sprout, then the plant quickly forms the fourth and fifth leaves. After five leaves are formed on the seedlings, it can be planted on a pre-prepared site along with cups.

In order for pak choi seedlings to take root faster, you need spray regularly with water(2-4 times a day; spraying should be carried out for 5-7 days).
It is best to plant cabbage in partial shade. Until the roots of the seedlings get stronger, the hot rays of the sun can harm her. Planting seedlings in the ground is best done in the evening or on a cloudy day.

The distance between the rows of cabbage should be 25-30 cm. Deepen into the soil until the first true leaves.

Growing features

Pak choi is suitable for growing in almost any type of soil. It does not require special and careful care. However, if some nuances are observed, the yield can be increased.

Watering and soil care

It is better to refrain from applying (because even if the cabbage adds in growth, it will lose its taste).

More about caring for pak choi

The culture is prone to the formation of arrows and flowering, so when growing, you need to take into account some biological features cabbage.
The processes of arrow formation and flowering are usually observed with a constant lengthening of daylight hours. To avoid this, some agronomists advise plant pak choi no earlier than July.

For better yields, the soil around the cabbage can be mulched with rich compost or grass clippings. So moisture will be better preserved (this is especially necessary during dry periods of summer).

Plant disease and pest control

Important!Pak choi also use a solution of wood ash and laundry soap, an infusion based on fresh tomato leaves and, a solution of acetic water,infusion liquid soap and dandelion root,infusion from garlic arrows and green.These solutions are suitable for both spraying and irrigation.

To combat the cruciferous flea, the use of an aqueous solution based on the drug is allowed. The drug is diluted in water according to the instructions and sprayed in the evening or morning.

Chinese cabbage pak choy ("pak choy" - turnip cabbage) - the oldest vegetable culture in China, belonging to the genus Cabbage. In its homeland, pak choi is also known as bai cai (white cabbage). It differs from other representatives of its kind in its excellent dietary qualities, and outwardly it is rather similar to large-leaved lettuce or chard (chard).

Botanical description
Pak-choi cabbage forms an upright rosette of leaves instead of a head of cabbage, the diameter of which is up to 35 cm, and the height, depending on the varietal characteristics, is from 10 to 50 cm. harvested leaves held on thick petioles tightly adjacent to each other. The leaves are delicate, with a corrugated surface from green-grayish to blue-green.

Chinese pak choi cabbage has several forms: leaf, petiole, head, semi-head and even root. The most valuable is the sheet form. root system consists of numerous, highly branched, thin root processes located close to the surface level (at a depth of no more than 15 cm). In the first year, the plant pulls out a peduncle. Upon completion of flowering, fruits are formed - pods with dark brown small seeds.

The value of culture

Chinese pak choi cabbage is superior in nutritional value even to white cabbage. It has a high content of vitamin C, carotene, chlorophyll, salts of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium. And most importantly, it contains the most valuable for human body amino acid - lysine, which is rare for vegetable crops. This component contributes to the dissolution of foreign proteins, reducing the risk of cancer, and strengthening the immune system.

Fresh pak choi leaves have a spicy bitterness, reminiscent of arugula in taste. Because of this, many Europeans call it mustard cabbage. After heat treatment leaves acquire a pleasant, sweetish aftertaste. Both leaves and petioles are suitable for consumption, but they are usually prepared separately. The leaves are mainly consumed fresh, as an ingredient in salads. Relatively rough, dense petioles must be stewed, boiled.

Species and varieties

There are three varieties of pak choi:
- "Joi Choi" - with dark green leaves and bright white petioles;
- "Shanghai Green" - with light green leaves and petioles;
- "Red Choi" - color sheet plates smoothly transitions from red-violet edges to a green base, which ends in green petioles.

On the Far East many are cultivated different varieties pak choi. But in Russia, this crop is grown relatively recently and at the moment only five varieties of Chinese pak-choi cabbage are listed in the state register:

- "Alyonushka" - forms a leaf rosette of medium size. Petioles are fleshy, wide, thickened, green;

- "Vesnyanka" - ultra-early leaf variety. The appearance of the first shoots occurs already on the 3rd day, and the first cut of the ground part can be made after 25 days. It forms a densely leafy, semi-raised rosette of leaves, up to 30 cm high. This variety is suitable for growing in protected and open ground conditions.

- "Martin" - petiolate variety with early dates vegetation. Petioles are white, fleshy, juicy. Average weight plants is about 1 kg, most of which falls on the petioles.

- "Swan" - mid-season, leaf variety, technical maturity of the ground part occurs 40 days after emergence. Forms an upright leaf rosette, up to 45 cm in diameter and up to half a meter high. The average weight of the plant is also about 1 kg. At the base of the plant, white petioles are clearly expressed, 30-35 cm long. They account for 80% of the plant mass. The main advantages of this variety of Chinese cabbage are sufficient resistance to stemming, unfavorable climatic conditions, the possibility of a thickened landing.

- "Peahen" - medium-early hybrid obtained on the basis of Peking and Chinese cabbage. Subject to universal use, tk. has dense, crisp, wide petioles and large leaves. It is characterized by absolute resistance to stalk, which allows various terms sowing, decorative and long-term preservation commercial qualities of the ground part after cutting.

In addition to the above varieties of Chinese cabbage pak choi on Russian market arrives planting material varieties of foreign selection. The main suppliers include Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean companies.
When cultivated in central and northwestern regions Russia showed excellent results varieties: "Priorbai", "Syusman", "Hei-bai-tsai", "King-Jung", "Shanhaydabaytsa" and others. They form large rosettes of delicate leaves, resistant to bolting.

Resistant hybrids of pak-choi cabbage with early ripening from the Japanese company Sokata Sid are gaining more and more popularity: China, Cha-Cha, Mari, Pagoda, Express, Jane early, China Priid", "Koma-chi" and others.

Planting bak choi

From the point of view of agricultural cultivation, the main advantage of Chinese cabbage over other species is its high early maturity (vegetative period up to 50 days), cold resistance, and less susceptibility to diseases and pest attacks.

Landing place. This unpretentious culture gives higher yields in wet, fertile soils with weak acidity. When choosing a landing site, the following predecessors should be avoided: radishes, turnips, swedes, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, legumes and, of course, Chinese cabbage itself. Non-compliance with crop rotation leads to the accumulation of larvae of pests and pathogens in the soil.

When grown in areas with little shading, pak choi increases the length of the vegetative period. But at the same time, the leaves on the plants become softer, more tender.

As with all cabbage plants, it is better to prepare the soil for its cultivation in the fall. Together with digging, 1 bucket is brought in for every 1m2 of beds organic fertilizers, 1 tbsp. l. potash fertilizers and superphosphate, if necessary, perform liming.

In the spring, after the snow melts, the bed intended for growing pak choi cabbage must be loosened, which will reduce moisture loss due to evaporation. Immediately before sowing, the soil is loosened again, processing the soil layer with a thickness of about 15 cm. In the process, the introduction of urea (1 tsp / m2) is recommended.

Landing methods. Pak choi does not tolerate transplanting well, so the use of methods of direct sowing in the ground with subsequent thinning is recommended. And for growing seedlings, it is recommended to apply seeds in peat cups or tablets.

Loose soil must be used when growing pak choi through seedlings. Seeds can be sown from mid-March in several stages with one and a half week intervals. Seedlings are considered ready for planting when they reach 25 days of development in the phase of 5 true leaves.

When sowing Chinese pak-choi cabbage in open ground, its seeds are distributed along shallow holes made at intervals of at least 30 cm. A nested planting method is also possible. Shoots that appeared in phase 2 of true leaves must be thinned out, increasing the distance between adjacent plants to 15 cm.

Boarding times. Chinese pak choi grows well in relatively cool climates. For her shoots optimal temperature conditions are considered 14-16C at 80% relative humidity. The soil should be regularly, but moderately moist. A short cooling of the plant is ignored.

Long-term cooling has a detrimental effect on the shoots of Chinese cabbage pak-choi. Setting the temperature at the level of 10C leads to further bolting of plants. Similar results are also observed when grown under conditions of long daylight hours (more than 16 hours). Drought and heat (more than 25C) become unfavorable for this crop. This leads to the appearance of burns on the surfaces of the leaf plates, and also increases the risk of damage by cruciferous fleas.

With this in mind, the early spring plantings of pak-choy become effective. To obtain the earliest harvest, direct sowing in open ground under film cover is carried out from the second half of April. When planting seedlings during this period, the grown plants are transplanted after 3-4 weeks, adhering to the 35x35 cm scheme. After another month, technical ripeness occurs.

In case of direct sowing of pak-choi in early May, it is advisable to place it on the beds as a compactor. Joint crops of this crop with potatoes, parsley, white cabbage and others. This helps to reduce bolting and prolong the period of consumption of leaves.

But in mid-May, it is not recommended to sow pak-choi cabbage. In this case, the development phase of the leaf rosette will occur under the conditions of the longest daylight hours.

The highest quality, mass harvest of Chinese pak-choi cabbage is ensured by its planting in the first week of July. Accelerated shoots can be obtained by creating a greenhouse effect by covering the beds plastic wrap. When several true leaves appear, it is removed and seedlings are thinned out. The July plantings will be ready for final harvesting at the end of October. During significant cold snaps in autumn period the beds will have to be protected with a film shelter.

Cultivation and care

Cultivation of Chinese pak choi is practically no different from the cultivation of cauliflower and broccoli. To obtain a quality crop, the main task is to prevent premature shooting. To avoid this, it is necessary to adhere to the recommended sowing dates.

Like all types of cabbage, pak choi needs watering, fertilizing, loosening, weeding, etc. For organic dressings use mullein infusion at a concentration of 1:10. Plants are watered every 2 weeks.
Given the superficial location of the pak choi root system, the soil should not be allowed to dry out. The beds need regular, but careful watering, combined with timely loosening. During the dry period, the watering rate of the beds with this crop is 20 l / m2. In addition, leaf spraying is recommended.

Pest control
The most significant damage to pak choi is caused by cruciferous fleas, especially in the early stages of development. Take off in the fight effective tool it becomes timely spraying with a solution of tobacco dust with ash (1: 1: 10).

Harvest and storage

At the final harvest, the plants must be pulled out along with the root. Then the root is cut off at the bottom of the base and the outer layer of leaves is removed. Heads of pak-choi can be preserved until the end of the year at a temperature within 8C, wrapped in cling film.