Asian Leafy Vegetables: Special Pak Choy (艿白菜）

Special Pak Choy （艿白菜）makes a very tasty stir fried vegetable dish, famous among the chinese families in Asia. It is best stir fried with chopped garlic and olive oil. It is crunchy and sweet to the taste as well as rich in vitamin C. 

It grows well in tropical weather with lots of sunshine.

Materials you need

· At least a space of approximately 1m by 1m for about 40 to 50 seedlings at a garden plot, balcony area or roof top garden.

· This illustration is designed and documented using a green house garden lot.

· I used seeds from farm 85 at Lim Chu Kang but you may want to experiment with other brands too.

Fig. 1 The seeds

Step 1: Use a small gardening pot to seed the vegetable (about 20cm diameter pot for up to 60 seeds). Leave the pot at a sunny spot ( ~ 28 to 32 degree). The seeds take about 3 to 5 days to germinate. Assuming a germination rate of 80%, you will have at least 40 seedlings with 50 seeds. It will take about 10 to 14 days to grow into seedlings, ready for transplant.

Farm 85 seeds are generally of pretty high quality. I can usually achieve about 90 to 95% germination rate with the right soil, sun and water.

Fig. 2 Seedlings on day 7 (on top) and ready for transplant on day 14 (below)



Step 2: Water the planting plot with lots of water. You need about 20L of water to 1m x 1m space. Gently loosen the soil with a gardening spade and water with another 10L of water. Dig small holes about 10 to 15cm apart. This ensures each seedling will be about 10 to 15cm apart.

Fig. 3 Dig holes ~10 to 15 cm apart on the planting plot

Transplant the seedlings from the pot in Fig.2 to the ready planting plot. You need to prepare the soil 1 to 2 weeks before the actual transplant. Refer to how to prepare the soil or plot in this blog.

Fig. 4 Seedlings layout immediately after transplant. To obtain best survival rate, ensure the soil is well watered (moist and wet).

Step 3: On a bi-weekly basis, fertilise the seedlings. Refer to how to prepare the liquid fertilizer here.

Step 4: The growth rate of the vegetable immediately after transplant is typically very slow at least for first 3 days. But after one week, you will see the special Pak Choy blossom and start to grow at a tremendous rate.

Fig. 5 On week 1 of transplant or week 3 after the seed(left). On week 2 of transplant (right)

Step 5: continue to water and fertilise the vegetables. The vegetables will be ready for harvesting 3 to 4 weeks after transplant or maximum 6 weeks after seeding. The biggest plant within a batch can grow up to about 20 to 25cm diameter. Typical size will be about 10 to15cm in diameter.

Fig.6. Harvested Special Pak Choy.

The shelf life of special pak choy is generally shorter than most of the leafy vegetables like kai lan（芥兰） and chye sim（菜 心）. There are however tricks to help to prolong the life of the vegetable and allow storage for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Immediately after harvest, spread out the vegetables on a piece of newspaper. Let them air for half a day in a cool place. Do not place it under the sun and do not wash them. You will know if the vegetables are ready for keeping when the leaves soften and their size seem to have shrinked.

Prepare a plastic air tight container and place the vegetable loosely into the container. Do not press them. Cover them and place it in the refrigerator.

Remove the the vegetable at least 1 hour before cooking. Soak them in water and let them expand (typically takes at least 30 mins). Cut/slice and cook as per normal. 

Disclaimer:

Information are documented to the best of my ability and your result may varies.

Products and brands mentioned directly or indirectly in this blog reflects the experience of the author and does not represent the views of the individual merchants. There are many factors like seeds condition, weather, actual soil mixed, individual planting habits etc which may affect your results.