Stephen Albert
Chinese cabbage which includes pac choi (bok choy), pei tsai, Michihli, Napa, and celery cabbage is a cool-weather vegetable.
Chinese cabbages are hardy biennials grown as annuals. Chinese cabbage has broad, thick, tender leaves and heavy midribs. There are several varieties of Chinese cabbage some are loosehead and some are tight headed; plants grow from 15 to 18 inches (38-45cm) tall.
Table of Contents
Chinese Cabbage Quick Growing Tips
- Sow Chinese cabbage directly in the garden as early as 4 to 6 weeks before the last average frost date in spring.
- Chinese cabbage must come to harvest in the cool temperatures and shorter days of spring or autumn before temperatures rise above 75°F (24°C).
- Plants require from 50 to 85 days to come to harvest depending upon the variety.
- Chinese cabbage yield: grow 6 to 8 plants per household member and grow cut-and-come-again.
Types of Chinese Cabbage
There are two types of Chinese cabbage, loosehead, similar to loose-leaf lettuce, and heading or tight head.
Loosehead Chinese Cabbages
- Loosehead Chinese cabbages include pac choi, also called bok choy, and pei tsai. Pac choi and pei tsai have open, loose heads or rosettes of usually dark green leaves with white celery-like stalks. These are heat-tolerant but will bolt if the weather turns from chilly to very warm Plant these at 2 to 3-week intervals for a continuous harvest. Loosehead types can be harvested a few stalks at a time, cut-and-come-again.
Heading Chinese Cabbages
- Heading types include Michihili and Napa; Michihili has a tall cylindrical or tapered head while the Napa is a short barrel-shaped head. These can be grown like cabbage, though they are mild-flavored, unlike cabbage. When these heads are trimmed they reveal compact heads. The entire head to cut at harvest time.
Where to Plant Chinese Cabbage
- Grow Chinese cabbage in full sun in cool regions and in partial shade in warm regions.
- Plant Chinese cabbage in well-worked, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter.
- Add aged compost to planting beds before planting and side dress crops with compost again at midseason.
Chinese Cabbage Planting Time
- Chinese cabbage is a cool-weather plant that will bolt and go to seed quickly in warm weather and long days; grow Chinese cabbage in spring or autumn in temperatures ranging from 45° to 75°F (7-24°C).
- Sow seed 4 to 6 weeks before the average date of the last frost in spring.
- Sow seed directly in the garden; seedlings transplanted into the garden may be shocked into bolting to seed.
- In mild winter regions, plant Chinese cabbage in late summer or autumn for a late autumn harvest.
Planting and Spacing Chinese Cabbage
- Sow Chinese cabbage seed ½ inch deep and 4 inches (10cm) apart.
- Thin successful seedlings from 12 to 18 inches (30-45cm) apart.
- Space rows 18 to 30 inches (45-76cm) apart depending upon the variety.
- Chinese cabbage does not transplant well.
- Seedlings started indoors should be started in biodegradable peat or paper pots which are easily set in the garden.
Chinese Cabbage Companion Plants
- Plant Chinese cabbage with cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts.
- Do not plant Chinese cabbage with tomatoes, peppers, okra, or potatoes.
Chinese Cabbage Container Growing
- Chinese cabbage can be grown in containers at least 8-inches (20cm) across.
- Plant Chinese cabbage on 10-inch (25cm) centers in larger containers.
- Plants are sensitive to heat so move them into the shade when the weather warms.
Watering and Feeding Chinese Cabbage
- Keep soil evenly moist so that plants grow fast and stay tender.
- Slow growth can result in plants going to seed.
Chinese Cabbage Care
- Keep plants cool when the weather warms; do not let Chinese cabbage sit in direct sun for more than 8 hours each day.
Chinese Cabbage Pests and Diseases
- Chinese cabbage can be attacked by flea beetles, aphids, and cabbage worms.
- Aphids can be handpicked or hosed off. Cabbage worms can be controlled by spraying Bacillus thuringiensis.
- Chinese cabbage is susceptible to yellow virus, clubroot, and black rot.
- Plant disease-resistant varieties.
- Avoid handling plants when wet. Remove and destroy infected plants.
Harvesting Chinese Cabbage
- Cut whole heads at soil level when they are compact and firm and before seed stalks form usually 50 to 80 after sowing.
- Complete the harvest before the arrival of freezing weather. If the first fall frost arrives before heads form, Chinese cabbage can still be harvested for greens.
Storing Chinese Cabbage
- Chinese Cabbage Chinese cabbage will keep in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for about 4 weeks.
- Chinese cabbage can be blanched and frozen for 3 to 4 months.
Chinese Cabbage Varieties to Grow
- Pac Choi (Bok Choy): ‘Joi Choi’, ‘Black Summer’, ‘Mei Qing Choi’, ‘Li Ren Choi’, ‘Win-Win Choi’, ‘Rosie’, ‘Red Pac’, ‘Green Pac’.
- Heading types (Michihili and Napa): ‘Minuet’, ‘Mounment’, ‘Rubicon’, ‘Bilko’, ‘Red Dragon’, ‘Tokyo Bekana’.
About Chinese Cabbage
- Common name. Chinese cabbage, white cabbage, flowering cabbage, celery cabbage, pakchoi, Michihli, Napa cabbage
- Botanical name. Brassica chinensis
- Origin. China
Grow 80 vegetables: KITCHEN GARDEN GROWERS’ GUIDE
would like to hear from people with secrets of gardening ideas.
After planting radish cover the surface with ashes. Flies won’t lay their eggs into ground that has ashes and there will be no maggots in the radishes
would diatomaceous earth be effective in preventing/killing pests?
Diatomaceous earth acts as a desiccant; it injures the exoskeleton of many insects and causes them to die. Use diatomaceous earth as a barrier around the plants you want to protect. It must be reapplied after rain or irrigation.
how do I get disease resistant seed of Chinese cabbage in Nigeria
Look for hybrid varieties of Chinese cabbage that are resistant or tolerant to bottom rot and black speck. If you can’t find a local source, purchase your seed online. Try Johnny’s Select Seed or other seed growers.
Good Day can some one inform me I planted some Chinese Cabbage but the all have long storks with flower on when does the cabbage start forming.
Cabbage that has long stalks with flowers will not form heads. You planted too early–cabbage will “bolt” send up stalks when the weather is too warm. Cabbage is a cool weather plant and when the weather gets warm the plant things its life is nearly over–it must flower and drop seed and die. Wait until the weather is cooler–in the 60sF–then plant again.
are you serious? Home Depot sold Bok Choi with long flowers. I didn’t know any better and bough t it
Experience is the best teacher. Always avoid purchasing vegetable plants that are flowering. Let them flower after they are planted in your garden, not before.
Are the leaves good to eat when this happens? How do you prepare them if they are?
Chinese cabbage leaves can be eaten as soon as they are large enough to eat; they will become more coarse the longer they stay on the plant.
This link may be helpful:
How to Serve Chinese Cabbage
How do I keep the cabbage root maggots out of my Chinese cabbage? Every year I have this problem.
Cabbage root maggots are the larvae of very small cabbage maggot flies which lay masses if eggs in the soil near plants. When the eggs hatch the tiny white maggots burrow into the soil and tunnel into the plant roots where they feed. The best way to prevent cabbage maggots is to prevent flies from laying eggs. Fly barriers are the most effective. Window screening shaped as a cone and set over plants is one very effective barrier. A second type of barrier is a piece of tar paper or carpeting placed around the base of the plant to prevent the flies from laying eggs near the plants. Cut a square or circle of tar paper and then cut a slit to the center so that you can slip it around the stem of the plant. Row covers are another type of barrier; place the row cover over newly planted seedlings making sure flies were excluded. Finally, you can also try a hot pepper dust sprinkled over the soil surface; this may repel flies.
How do I grow cabbage in equatorial places like in Papua New Guinea?
In your region, you will want to choose a cabbage variety that is heat resistant. As well, choose a variety that is quick to harvest–less than or about 70 days would be best. Then sow seed just before the start of the coolest time of the year in your location.
How many times can I harvest in a single plant from maturity to the end of life cycle?
Thank you!!
Chinese cabbage can be harvested cut-and-come again. At the first harvest you can simply take leaves from the outside of the head or bunch and use those leaves–leaving the rest of the head to continue growing from the center outwards; you will get several harvests–3 or 4 or more. Or you can cut off the head about 1 inch/2.5 cm from the soil line and let a new head form; the second head will be smaller than the first; this method you will get 2 harvests.
Can I use salt water in watering chinese cabbage?
No, salty or saline water is not used to irrigate vegetables. Water with salt levels of 1,000 parts per million will kill vegetables.
How many weeks or months to harvests a chinese cabbage?
Chinese cabbage will be ready for harvest between 45 and 90 days from seed sowing depending on the variety you are growing. Chinese cabbage leaves are edible as soon as they are large enough to eat. You can harvest individual leaves cut-and-come-again for daily salads. If you want to harvest the whole head, then wait until the full days to maturity for the variety you are growing.
Great advice. I am a first time Chinese cabbage planter. I should have read these comments before I started
Our Chinese cabbage went to seed. How do we harvest the seeds? Will they be viable for replanting at the right time?
Harvest seed by placing the flowers in a paper bag. When the flowers dry the seed will drop and you can separate the seed from the flower petals. If the Chinese cabbage is not a hybrid then you can replant the seed and it should grow to be like the parent.
Can i use rice water in watering the chinese pechay? Thank you!
You can answer this question by experimenting with rice water irrigation on a small planting bed. Compare the results to a bed that uses your regular irrigation water.
My napa cabbage is not doing well.
Shield the plant from mid-day sun and feed it a dilute solution of fish emulsion every 10 days.
My napa cabbage has bolted. If I cut the flower stalk off, will the leaves regrow and not be bitter?
When cabbage bolts, natural sugars are transferred from the leaves into the new flower stem leaving the leaves bitter. You can trim cabbage back and some leaves will regrow; however, the best course is to sow new seeds–if you have enough cool weather weeks left before summer.