Bok choy is an attractive, versatile, and very tasty oriental vegetable that is popular in Asian recipes. Its broad, ribbed leaves, which can be white, light green, or purple, are commonly seen for sale in grocery stores, but I would recommend trying to grow it yourself at home.
That is because the vegetable, which goes by many names, is simple to grow and can provide bumper harvests of sweet, peppery leaves. As a cool-weather crop, it is a great vegetable to plant in spring and late summer or early fall in a vegetable garden.
Bok choy is a crop that I have often sown in late summer in my vegetable gardens to provide harvests throughout the colder months of late fall and early winter. I have always found it germinated reliably and is a fast-growing plant to pick as a cut-and-come-again crop for multiple harvests.
What is bok choy?
Bok choy is a brassica plant known by many names, including pak choi and Chinese cabbage. It is grown for its stalks and the crop is used in many Asian recipes. So if you want to learn how to grow pak choi, bok choy, or Chinese cabbage, you are in the right place, as we deep-dive into this popular cabbage family member.
Bok choy is a cool-season biennial crop that can be sown multiple times throughout the year for a long harvest. Ashleigh Smith, managing editor of True Leaf Market, recommends 'it's best to grow bok choy in the spring and fall when the days are shorter' as bok choy will flower and set seed when the days get longer and warmer. Bok choy prefers mild and wetter weather rather than the extreme heat of midsummer.
Bok choy can be sown indoors and outdoors in spring and the method you choose will likely depend on the last frost date in your US hardiness zone. Spring sowings indoors can start 4-6 weeks before your predicted last frost.
Sow seeds a half-inch deep into pots or trays filled with soil designed to start seeds in and germinate at temperatures of 65-70ºF. The seeds should germinate quickly and be kept moist as they develop. Harden off the young bok choy before transplanting seedlings once the risk of frost has passed.
Direct sowing can be done after the last frost in spring and in late summer or early fall. I have always found it a fantastic example of a vegetable to plant in September for late fall and early winter cropping.
To sow seeds outdoors, prepare the ground by weeding and raking before sowing seeds thinly in rows around one foot apart. Thin the seedlings as they develop to around 9-12 inches apart.
