Chinese cabbage Pak Choi is widely distributed in eastern countries, Europe and North America, but is almost unknown in our country. What is special about this vegetable, why it is worth growing in your own personal plot, and is it difficult to do this? Read on in the article.
What is Pak Choi?
Chinese cabbage Pak Choi or Bok Choi (Brassica rapa chinensis) - refers to annual leafy plants of the cruciferous family. Especially popular among residents of Southeast Asia and southern China, more and more captures the European and US markets.
In our country, the plant is not very popular. It is often called: petiole cabbage, Chinese leaf or just Chinese. The latter name is not very true, since they call Chinese cabbage Chinese.
Botanical Description
Pak-choi refers to early ripening varieties. An adult plant does not head out, but forms a lush rosette of leaves, which reaches a height of 20 to 60 cm, a diameter of 40 to 45 cm. More like a salad, not a cabbage. The leaves are located on thick and fleshy cuttings with an external bulge, tightly pressed against each other. The sheet is large, delicate, slightly corrugated. 3 main types are distinguished by the color of the leaf plate and petioles:
- Joi Choi. Bright dark green leaves grow on white petioles.
- Shanghai Green. And the leaves and petioles are light green. The leaves are a little darker.
- Red choi. Petioles are green, and the leaves below are green, and the top is red-violet.
Grade Joi Choi
Pak Choy Cabbage Shanghai Green
Variety Red Choi
After sprouts, cabbage forms a leaf rosette, and after complete ripening, throws an arrow with flowers. After the peduncle ripening in varietal cabbage, you can collect the seeds.
Pak Choi has a branched, thin, superficial root system. Depth does not exceed 15 cm.
Historical information
Pak Choi is known as one of the first vegetable crops to be grown in China, where it still occupies a special place in national cuisine and medicine.
In the 19th century it was introduced to Europe, where it was enjoyed and successfully grown.
Popular varieties
The State Register of Breeding Achievements includes many varieties of Pak Choy. All of them are recommended for cultivation in private households and eating.
The table of varieties of cabbage Pak Choi:
Grade name | Growing season, days | Productivity, kg / sq. m | Plant weight, g | Description |
Alyonushka | 45 | 9 | 1800 | Semi-spreading outlet. Small dark green leaves with a grayish tint, petiole is fleshy. |
Vesnyanka | 25-35 | 2,7 | 250 | The socket is half raised. The leaf is light or green in color, along the edge is slightly wavy, the central vein is fleshy, juicy. |
Vitavir | 25-35 | 6,2 | 500-700 | Low, semi-folding socket. The leaf is short, somewhat pubescent, with a wavy edge. Petiole is of medium thickness, short, green. |
Goluba | 25-35 | 6 | 600-900 | Rosette with a diameter of 40 cm. The leaf is medium, light green, smooth. Petiole is of medium thickness, wide, short. |
Corolla | 50-60 | 5 | 1000 | The socket is sprawling, small. The leaves are rounded, smooth along the edge, dark green. Petiole narrow, short, white. |
Beauty of the East | 35-45 | 6 | 700 | The outlet is vertical, medium size. The leaf is smooth, with smooth edges, green. Petiole is medium, light green. |
Swallow | 35-45 | 10 | 1500-3000 | Half raised socket. Leaves are smooth, green. Petioles are fleshy, juicy, green. |
Swan | 50-60 | 5-7,5 | 1100-1500 | Rosette grows horizontally. The leaves are oval, whole. The petiole is fleshy, white, long. |
Peahen | 50-60 | 10 | 1000-2000 | Semi-direct socket. The leaves are oval, smooth, green. The stalk is fleshy, without fibers, crunches. |
In memory of Popova | 35-45 | 10 | 800 | Half-sized outlet of medium size. The leaves are green, smooth with a faint wave along the edge. Petioles are white, flat, medium size. |
Chill | 50-60 | 6,5 | 1500 | The outlet is half-sized, medium-small. The leaf is light green in color, smooth. Petioles of the same color as the leaves are flat. |
Four seasons | 35-45 | 7,5 | 1350 | Half-sized outlet of medium size. The leaf is green, smooth. Petioles are lighter than leaves, thick, wide. |
Chingengsai | 35-45 | 3 | 120 | The socket is compact. Leaves are even along the edge, smooth, green. Petioles of medium thickness, lighter than the main color, short. |
Yuna | 50-60 | 5 | 800-1000 | Semi-folding socket. The leaves are medium sized, dark green, dissected, wavy along the edge. Petioles are narrow, green. |
Useful properties of Pak Choi and its harm
95% of Pak Choi cabbage consists of water, it also contains many vitamins (A, C, K, PP, B1, B2, B9) and minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, sodium, phosphorus, zinc). It is a dietary product which contains only 13 kcal per 100 g.
Beneficial effect on the body:
- cleans from toxins and bad cholesterol;
- improves vascular elasticity, normalizes blood pressure, supports the heart;
- promotes skin cell renewal;
- Helps to heal wounds, improves blood coagulation and blood formation;
- used as oncology prevention;
- improves immunity.
But there are some precautions in use:
- the vegetable contains glucosinolates, which, if overused, are harmful to the body;
- the myrosinase enzyme, which is part of all cruciferous plants, negatively affects the thyroid gland, interferes with the absorption of iodine;
To prevent the negative influence of the enzyme, cabbage is subjected to heat treatment.
- those who suffer from the pathology of thick blood and take drugs that dilute it, the use of Pak-choi is contraindicated;
- with caution should be consumed by people allergic to any type of cabbage.
Preparations before boarding
You can grow Pak Choi cabbage for a whole year in a greenhouse and in warm weather in open ground. The plant is not demanding on the composition of the soil and does not need special attention and skill of the gardener.
Location and climate
When choosing a place for a bed, consider the following features:
- Good warming. Cabbage likes a well-lit plot or partial shade.
- Soil moisture. Do not plant cabbage in the area where the water will stagnate after rains.
- Soil acidity. Cabbage will feel best on the ground with an average acidity of pH = 5.5-7.
- Daylight hours. The best period for growing is considered to be early spring or the second half of summer-autumn. Long daylight hours, at the end of May, June and July, can provoke the plant to shoot arrows. In such conditions, getting a good crop will not work.
Cabbage Pak-choi shoots arrows and blooms with increasing daylight hours.
- Resistance to frost. Seedlings are not afraid of a short-term drop in temperature to -4 ° C.
- Predecessors. Beans, grains, pumpkins, nightshades, and onions can grow in front of cabbage in the garden.
Any kind of cabbage, turnip, radish, radish, rutabaga will be a bad predecessor.
Land preparation
Soil preparation for planting Pak Choi begins in the fall.
Phase of work:
- Autumn digging. Dig a bed well, remove the roots of plants.
- Fertilizer. Add organic fertilizer (10 kg) and superphosphate (1 tablespoon) per 1 sq. Km. m
- Deoxidation of the soil. If in your area acidic soils, add 1 tbsp. spoon of lime or 200 g of ash per 1 square. m
- Heavy soil. To correct the situation, add coarse sand or rotted sawdust to the site, dig it up.
- Spring digging. Dig the soil to a depth of 15 cm in spring.
- Fertilizer application. Add 1 teaspoon of urea per 1 square. m
Seed preparation
Seed preparation does not require any specific actions and consists in:
- Calibration. Go through the seeds and select the largest. If there are not many, medium sized ones are also suitable.
- Germination test. Prepare a 3% salt solution and lower the seeds into it for 5 minutes. Collect those that have surfaced, and those that have fallen to the bottom are suitable for sowing. Immediately, under running water, rinse off the salt from them, and then dry them so as not to provoke premature germination.
- Disinfection. Dip the seeds in a potassium permanganate solution, then rinse with water. This will protect plants from fungal and bacterial diseases.
Another way is to warm up. To do this, prepare hot water (48-50 ° C). Seeds are placed in a gauze bag and dipped for 20 minutes in water. The complexity of this method is to control the temperature of the water.If the temperature is more than 50 ° C - the seeds will lose germination, if below 48 ° C - there will be no disinfecting effect.
- Speeding up germination. Seeds are placed in a container and filled with water so that it covers them. Changing water every 4 hours, the procedure is carried out at room temperature for 12 hours.
You can apply a solution of Nitrofoski (1 teaspoon dissolved in 1 liter of water). Soak the seeds for 12 hours. - Hardening. Seeds are placed in the lower section of the refrigerator and incubated for 24 hours.
After that, the seeds are dried so that they cease to stick to the fingers and begin to sow.
How to plant Chinese kale?
There are two ways to plant Pak Choi cabbage, which will be discussed later.
Seedling method
Seedlings are sown in late March-early April. This method is good in that it allows you to get an early harvest.
Work sequence:
- Capacity for seedlings. Prepare the required amount of peat pots. It is recommended to sow seeds immediately in them so as not to damage the delicate root system during transplantation. Peat tablets may be used.
- Priming. Fill the pots with gourmet mixture; coconut extract is good.
- Sowing seeds. You can put several seeds in each pot. And after germination - remove the weak.
- Closing up. Seeds are covered with soil to a depth of 1 cm.
- A place for germination. It should be warm, warm well by the sun.
The first sprouts will appear 3-5 days after sowing.
To provide yourself with a constant crop for a long time, you can sow seeds for seedlings in small quantities every 7-10 days.
You can transfer seedlings to the garden or to the greenhouse after 3 weeks. At the same time adhere to the scheme:
- 40-50 cm - between the rows;
- 20-35 cm - the distance between plants in a row, depending on the size of the variety's outlet.
Open Seed
Seeds can be sown in open ground starting in April, when the earth warms up to + 3-4 ° C or in July.
Sowing procedure:
- Method. There are 2 methods of planting in the ground:
- Ribbon lowercase. When the seeds are glued to the tape and stacked in rows. Or a groove is made in the ground and seeds are sown in it.
- To the holes. The bed is divided into rows in each row, holes are made 2 cm deep after 30 cm. 2-3 seeds are placed in each hole.
- Closing up. Fill the crop with soil.
- Shelter. Cover the rows with plastic wrap to maintain heat and moisture. This will facilitate rapid germination.
- Seedlings. The first plants hatch in 1-1.5 weeks.
Diseases and pests, control and prevention
Cabbage resists major diseases well. Of the pests can be affected:
- Cruciferous flea. The pest gnaws large holes in the leaves. You can fight with ash or ash and tobacco dust (1: 1), which sprinkle soil. Another method is to cover young sprouts with agrofibre.
- Cabbage whitewash. Dangerous for cabbage are not the butterflies themselves, but their caterpillars. To fight tobacco dust is suitable. Leaves with pest eggs must be removed.
- Slugs and snails. They are removed either manually or with the help of special baits, which can be purchased in the store and put between the rows.
When using chemicals, you should adhere to the instructions and do not use them during the harvest season.
Care for Pak Choi
Caring for Chinese kale is:
- Thinning. It is necessary with the line-ribbon method of sowing. Perform the first thinning after the appearance of these leaves. Remove weak plants, leaving between them 10 cm. After the growth of rosettes and closing a row, spend a second thinning, leaving between the plants 20 cm.
- Top dressing. Only needed if fertilizer was not applied during planting. Apply organic fertilizer at the beginning of the growing season. For this purpose, a solution of mullein (1:10) or bird droppings (1:20) is suitable.
The use of mineral fertilizers is not recommended, since Pak Choi cabbage quickly accumulates nitrates.
- Watering. Cabbage loves plentiful watering. You can use the sprinkling method, but remember that stagnation of water can lead to fungal diseases.
- Weeding. Timely remove weeds in the garden, this will help in the fight against pests.
When and how to harvest?
You can try the first crop 3 weeks after planting. Cut off young leaves leaving at the root 2-3 cm, more mature - even higher. This will allow you to re-harvest on cut outlets - cabbage quickly grows new shoots.
Cut leaves cannot be stored for a long time, so reap the crop as needed. If necessary, you can wrap the leaves in a damp towel and store for up to 2 days on the refrigerator door.
If the plant was cut at the initial stage of the formation of the arrow, it can be consumed, since the leaf has not yet lost its juiciness.
Leaves older than 50 days, for early varieties, are considered overexposed, become coarse and unfit for food.
You can see how Pak-choi cabbage looks in the video clip. From it you will also learn the features of growing, caring, harvesting and what you can cook from a vegetable.
Reviews
Tatyana, 35 years old. They planted cabbage last year for the first time, seedlings in a greenhouse. While transplanted to the garden - half ate. The one that was transplanted, eventually went into the arrows, bloomed. In August, the seeds showered, and after a month and a half, we again ate beautiful, tender cabbage. My family loves her very much in salads and on sandwiches. Now I want to put it mixed with salad and spinach. The main thing is not to overexpose the cabbage in the garden, to collect it young.
Nikolay, 55 years old. Last year, he planted Pak Choi cabbage for testing. Sowed 2 times per season - first in April in a greenhouse, then in July in open ground. The growth and maturation rate of this vegetable is amazing. For myself, I concluded - I will definitely plant more.
Olga, 40 years old. I decided to plant this cabbage. Planted on seedlings in May. Shoots pleased - so friendly and strong. After transplanting to the garden, after 10 days, all the cabbage went in the direction of the arrow. I was very upset and now I can’t decide whether to plant her again.
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Pak Choi cabbage has many useful substances, is not whimsical to growing conditions, does not require special care. Being an early ripe crop, it produces crops several times a season. But, it disappoints some gardeners that it goes in the direction of the arrow and is badly damaged by the cruciferous flea.