Pak Choi
Grows fast and tastes yummy
Pak choi is a very tasty leafy vegetable that grows incredibly quickly. It’s a hardy cabbage plant that can withstand a lot of frost and is great in autumn pies, stews and woks.
Pak choi for winter harvest
Pak choi is an Asian leafy vegetable that has become a favourite in Nordic gardens too. The bright, crispy stems with dark green leaves can be picked as small leaves or fully developed. Our chilly climate is perfect for pak choi. The plants can withstand 4-5 degrees below zero and are therefore an extremely valuable kitchen plant for those who want to harvest leafy greens during autumn and winter.
Pak choi can also be grown indoors, either in soil or as a hydroponic crop. During the winter months, indoor-grown pak choi needs extra lighting to produce a good harvest.
Sow and harvest pak choi in several rounds
Pak choi grows best in spring and autumn. Therefore, we sow seeds in several rounds, both in spring and late summer. On warm, bright summer days, however, it is easy for pak choi to flower. We therefore tend to pause cultivation in high summer.
- Propagating pak choi indoors
For indoor sowing, March-April is a good time. Even earlier sowing is possible if the plants can get extra light. Place the seeds about 1 cm deep, water and keep the sowing moist. Pak choi grows well at room temperature or warmer. Once the first leaves have appeared, the seedlings can be planted in a bright and cool place. The earlier in the year you sow pak choi, the more important it is to have a bright window or extra lighting from a plant lamp.
- Direct sow pak choi outdoors
July-August is the time to sow pak choi for its heyday in late summer, autumn and early winter. Place the seeds about 1cm deep, water and keep the sowing moist. You can cover the plants with fibre cloth to keep pests away. Luckily, earthworms and other hungry critters are most active during the summer, so pak choi sown from July onwards usually does well.
Pak choi – planting and care advice
Pre-cultivated pak choi needs to be hardened off before setting out in the country. Leave the plants outdoors longer and longer for a couple of days. Choose a sunny or semi-shady spot and plant the pak choi in thoroughly fertilised soil. Water regularly, so that they don’t dry out. This will minimise the risk of stunting – that is, the plants will flower prematurely. Place grass cuttings or other organic material between the plants. This will keep moisture in the soil, smother the weeds and provide extra nutrition as they decompose.
Pak choi can be thinning harvested to a plant spacing of 10-30cm. A smaller spacing is suitable for harvesting small leaves and a larger spacing for harvesting full-grown pak choi.
To further extend the harvesting season for pak choi, the plants can be covered with fibre cloth or grown in greenhouses.
Cooking with pak choi
Pak choi can be harvested as small leaves just like lettuce. Or you can cut the whole plant off at the base with a sharp knife when the leaves have grown. Leave the root in the country as there may be a new round of leaves.
In the kitchen, pak choi is a versatile vegetable. A classic cooking method is to stir-fry the leaves and stems with spices and oil, but pak choi can be used for much more. Try it in casseroles, stews and pies, preferably with an Asian touch of sesame, chilli and ginger. The tender leaves are particularly good in salads, but the larger leaves can also be eaten raw, for example mixed into pesto.
Like all cabbage plants, pak choi is a real superhero when it comes to nutritional content, boasting over 70 different antioxidants.
Author: Johanna Damm
Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra
Last updated 2022-10-14