How To Grow Bok Choy In Your Kitchen Garden? Tips And Tricks
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Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli are all cabbage family members, including bok choy. Chinese cabbage, pak choi, and pok choi are more frequent names. They are called Brassica rapa subsp. Chinensis in botanical terminology. Unlike celery, they do not have heads but grow stalks from a bulbous base. Eating stalks and leaves are frequently used as ingredients in Asian-inspired cooking.

Although they are the same plant, bok choy is frequently bought in supermarkets or farmers' markets as full-sized or baby bok choy. Harvested when the plant is young, baby bok choy has a sweeter and softer flavour. Use the larger, more robust plants in stir-fries, other longer-cooking recipes, and baby bok choy in soups and salads.

As biennials, these plants may be prone to bolting. A common reason for bolting in the first year is cold weather followed by warming temperatures, which fools the plant into believing it has experienced a winter. Dry soil and prolonged hot summer temperatures can also bring bolting.

Growing Bok Choy: Guide

Things To Remember When Growing Bok Choy

  • For gardeners who can't find enough sunny areas to plant all their vegetables, bok choy is a boon. Although it thrives in full sun, bok choy can also be grown in partial sun for three to five hours daily.
  • Planting in an area that receives morning sunlight and afternoon shade helps postpone bolting in hotter regions. Keep those extremely bright spots for your sweet corn or tomatoes!
  • Rich, fertile soil with a neutral pH is perfect for these heavy feeders. Before planting, thoroughly mix the soil with compost. To increase the length of your crop, make room for succession plantings.
  • Bok choy can be planted in your garden where earlier developing crops have already been completed because of its short growth season and resistance to mild frosts.

How To Plant Bok Choy? Step-By-Step

Although bok choy is typically planted from seed, garden centres sell transplants in the spring. To ensure a consistent supply of these delectable plants, sow additional every two weeks during the spring and once more in the autumn.

Growing Bok Choy Indoors:

  1. Use soil blocks or regular trays to plant one or two seeds per cell.
  2. Plant seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep.
  3. Reduce the number of seedlings per cell to one after germination.
  4. Don't pluck the extras; instead, trim them so as not to harm the roots of the surviving plants.
  5. Before moving them into the garden beds, let them harden off.
  6. Once a set of genuine leaves has formed and the soil temperature outside reaches 50°F (10°C), they can be moved outside

Grow Bok Choy Directly From Seed:

  1. Use compost to get the bed ready.
  2. Plant seeds in rows 18 inches apart, ½ inch deep, and roughly three inches apart.
  3. Plants should be spaced 6 to 9 inches apart once they are 4 inches tall. Consume the ones you eliminate!

How To Care For Bok Choy?

These plants are a reliable method to get some garden produce into your kitchen because they are simple to grow and can withstand partial sun.

  • Fertile, nitrogen-rich soil is ideal for bok choy. Add a lot of organic stuff and compost.
  • Maintain a consistent, light moisture content in the soil. Steer clear of intense dry and wet cycles.
  • It may bolt early if the weather warms and the bok choy is exposed to cool nighttime temperatures. Hold off on moving spring crops until the risk of frost has subsided.
  • Bok choy prefers at least one inch of water every week. In the morning, try watering. The plants will be less stressed and have access to water throughout the warmest part of the day. Consider using a timer to switch on and off your irrigation if your mornings are busy.
  • After thinning, mulch between plants reduces weed growth and controls soil moisture variations.

Harvesting Bok Choy

It's normal to wait too long to harvest bok choy. Harvest a few plants sooner for baby bok choy (about 6 to 8 inches tall) if you'd like. The resulting space will enable the remaining ones to continue expanding. While some bok choy can mature, baby bok choy can be picked as soon as 30 days after planting. Certain types will take 60 to 70 days in chilly temperatures to reach their maximum size.

You may prolong your bok choy yield by planting and harvesting plants of different sizes. You may savour fresh bok choy for several weeks each spring and fall with a little practice.

A common ingredient in salads, soups, and stir-fries is bok choy. It originated in China more than 5,000 years ago, and because of its easy cultivation and quick growth, it has gained popularity worldwide. A tasty and nutritious addition to any garden or diet, bok choy is low in calories and high in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as minerals like calcium and potassium.