Garden Vegetable - Chinese Cabbage

Botanical Information

Starting

Notes:

Succeeds in a well-drained, fertile, preferably alkaline soil. Succeeds in acid and alkaline soils but prefers a pH in the range 6.5 to 7 and tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 6.8. Prefers a heavy soil and grows badly in sandy ones. Prefers full sun and a sheltered location. Likes some shade. Drought resistant according to one report, whilst another says that the plants are shallow-rooted and have very little resistance to drought. They require about 5 gallons of water from sowing to maturity. Plants are not fully winter hardy in the Northwest, though mature plants withstand light frosts to about 27°F. Plants prefer coolish weather during their growing season, a temperature range of 55-68°F is ideal.
Chinese cabbage is widely cultivated, especially in China and Japan, for its edible leaves. It looks like a large cos lettuce or cabbage and has a crisp, watery texture with a mustard-like taste. There are many named varieties. Those forms with loose heads were developed for areas with hotter summers, whilst compact-headed forms were developed for cooler areas. The loose-headed forms are less prone to bolt, are more resistant to cold and are more disease-resistant. An annual to biennial species, it is normally grown as an annual. Plants take from 55 - 100 days from sowing to maturity, depending on variety, the loose-headed forms are usually 2 - 3 weeks faster than compact-headed forms. Plants do not like root disturbance so should not be transplanted unless grown in individual pots. Plants are highly resistant to fungus attacks and the cabbage moth, they are also slow to bolt in hot weather. Some cultivars are more resistant to bolting when sown in spring than other forms. There is some evidence that interplanting this species with dill and garlic can lessen the attacks of caterpillars. A good bee plant.

Propagation: Seed - it can be sown from late May to September in situ. The spring sown crops often run to seed very quickly but 'barrel' types can be sown at this time. If seedlings are germinated at a temperature of 64-68°F and then grown on at this temperature for their first few weeks, they are then less likely to bolt. Seed usually germinates within 3 - 4 days. A late summer sowing under protection can provide leaves in the winter. Seedlings can be transplanted when about 3 - 4 weeks old. Collards