Brassica rapa - Pekinensis Group

Brassicaceae

Pak-choi

Low growing edible herb grown as an annual. Soft, green basal leaves. Broad, undulate or obscurely toothed. Inflourescence of pale yellow flowers in terminal racemes.

Uses

Harvest 70-80 days after planting, when heads are firm. Harvest autumn crops before frosts commence. Can be steamed or used in stir fries. Vegetable.

Culture

Sensitive to very hot and very cold conditions, it will grow in most climates at some time of the year. Plant out 12 weeks prior to the first frost, or 5 to 6 weeks after the last frost. Growth will cease at temperatures below 10 degrees C. Requires ample moisture and well drained soil. Prefers a fertile soil high in nitrogen and phosphorous during the early stages of growth. Iron and boron are also important. Prefers a soil pH of 7.0 Can suffer from damping off in wet soils. Can also suffer from downey mildew and alternaria. Protect from cabbage white butterfly, snails, slugs, aphis, maggots and cutworms. http://osu.orst.edu/Dept/NWREC/chincabb.html

Propagation

Seed

Cultivars

No information available at this time...

Plant Health

No information available at this time...

More info

'Home Vegetable Growing' and 'Commercial Vegetable Production' courses through Australian Correspondence Schools, see www.acs.edu.au/hort. 'Commercial Hydroponics' on CDROM from Australian Correspondence Schools, see www.acs.edu.au/shop

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