Bok Choy, Pak Choy or Celery Mustard
Brassica rapa (BRASSICACEAE, Chinensis Group)
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Bok Choy, Pak Choy or Celery Mustard
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- How much bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard to plant
- Growing conditions for bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard
- When to plant bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard
- How to plant bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard
- Companion plantings for bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard
- How to harvest, store, and use bok choy, pak choy or celery mustard
Growing Bok Choy or Celery Mustard
Bok Choy, Pak Choy (Pac Choi), and Celery Mustard are cool-season, Swiss-chardlike, half-hardy, perennial vegetables of the Mustard family. Most grow 12–20 in. (30–50 cm) tall, with broad, shiny, white-veined leaves and cream, yellow or red, fleshy stems, prized for cooking in stir-fried dishes. Dwarf cultivars are common and are prized for their small stature.
Bok Choy or Celery Mustard Plant Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 12–15 full-sized plants or 16–20 dwarf-cultivar plants per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 7–10 days. Average Climates: Sow seed outdoors in full sun in spring when soil warms to 45°F (7°C) and again in autumn after heat has broken and 2 months of warm weather remains. Mild-Winter Climates: Sow seed outdoors in autumn when soil temperature drops to 65°F (18°C). Sow seed 1/4–1/2-in. (6–12 mm) deep, 4 in. (10 cm) apart, thinning to 12–16 in. (30–40 cm) apart, in rows 24 in. (60 cm) apart. Plant successions every 2 weeks.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 45–75°F (7–24°C). Zones 3–10. Best in mild climates. Avoid planting in areas with more than 6 hours of daily sunlight. Bolts in temperatures over 80°F (27°C) and when daylight hours lengthen in summer.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained, sandy soil. Fertility: Rich. 6.5–7.5 pH. Prepare soil at least 18 in. (45 cm) deep. Rotate plantings with legumes to avoid nitrogen depletion.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Fertilize monthly with 10–3–3 formula supplemented with garden lime. Mulch. Cultivate. Aphid, cabbage looper, cabbageworm, cutworm, root maggot and powdery mildew susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
45–80 days. Thin outer leaves by cutting at base when 5 in. (13 cm) long; harvest by cutting at soil line when plants reach 1 ft. (30 cm) tall. Young leaves have delicate texture and sweet taste; allow plants to mature for best flavor.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 3–4 weeks; steamed and frozen, 3–4 months; sliced, steamed, and frozen as filling for Asian dishes, soups, and stews, 4–6 weeks. Good as a steamed vegetable to accompany meat dishes or as a substitute for Swiss chard or spinach in filled pasta dishes; raw leaves can be eaten with other leafy greens as a salad vegetable; entire plant can be stir-fried with other vegetables and meat for use in Asian dishes.