Common names: Chinese cabbage, white cabbage, flowering cabbage, celery cabbage, pakchoy, Michihii, Napa cabbage

Botanical name: Brassica chinensis

Origin: China

Varieties

Burpee Hybrid (75 days); Crispy Choy (pakchoy type, 53 days); Michihii (heading type, 72 days).

Description

Chinese cabbage is a hardy biennial grown as an annual, and it's not a member of the cabbage family. It has broad, thick, tender leaves; heavy midribs; and can be either loosely or tightly headed and grow 15 to 18 inches tall. The variety with a large compact heart is called celery cabbage, pakchoy, or Michihii. In Chinese, call \tpe-tsai; in Japanese, say hakusai. Despite the name, the appearance and taste of Chinese cabbage are closer to lettuce than to regular cabbage.

Where and when to grow

Chinese cabbage can be grown only in cool weather, because it bolts (goes to seed) quickly in hot weather and long days - it bolts much faster than the cabbage family vegetables. It's usually grown as a fall crop in the North and as a winter crop in the South. It can be started inside and transplanted outside in the spring, but Chinese cabbage shocks easily, and transplanting sometimes shocks it into going to seed.

How to plant

Chinese cabbage is difficult to grow in the home garden unless you can give it a long, cool growing season. Plant it four to six weeks before your average date of last frost. Even if the first fall frost arrives before the head forms you'll still get a crop of greens. Chinese cabbage will tolerate partial shade. The soil should be well-worked and well-fertilized, high in organic matter and able to hold moisture. When you'repreparing the soil for planting, work in a complete, wellbalanced fertilizer at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet or 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Sow seeds in rows 18 to 30 inches apart, and when the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them to stand eight to 12 inches apart. Don't even attempt to transplant Chinese cabbage unless you've started the seeds in peat pots or other plantable containers.

Fertilizing and watering

Fertilize before planting and again at midseason, at the same rate as the rest of the garden. Water frequently to help the young plants grow fast and become tender. They'll probably go to seed if their growth slows down.

Pests

Flea beetles, aphids, and cabbage worms make Chinese cabbage difficult to grow without spraying. Aphids can be partially controlled without chemicals by hand-picking or

hosing, and cabbage worms can be controlled by spraying with bacillus thuringiensis, which is an organic product. Flea beetles usually must be chemically controlled with carbaryl, which will also control cabbage loopers.

Diseases

Yellows virus, clubroot, and black rot may attack Chinese cabbage. Cut down on the incidence of disease by planting disease-resistant varieties when they're available, maintaining the general health of your garden, and avoiding handling the plants when they're wet. If a plant does become infected, remove and destroy it so it cannot spread disease to healthy plants.

When and how to harvest

Time from planting to harvest is 50 to 80 days, and a 10-foot row should give you 10 or more heads. Harvest when the heads are compact and firm and before the seedstalks form. With a fall crop, harvest before hardfreezing weather. To harvest, cut off the whole plant at ground level.

Storing and preserving

Chinese cabbage stays fresh in the refrigerator up to one week, or in a cold, moist place for two to three months. You can also freeze or dry it, and the seeds of Chinese cabbage can be sprouted.

Serving suggestions