Flowering pak choi

[LesMiserable]

I've grown pak choi for the first time ever this year (under fleece) and they have grown very well.
However they are very "cabbagie" without the tight white centres like the ones in the supermarket.
This evening when I went down to the allotment I noticed quite a few plants have sent up small green broccoli type flowers.
I'm told these are quite edible, but does this mean I won't get the tight white centres I was looking forward to?
I've got a couple of more crops sewn a few weeks apart. With the weather now getting warmer, does this mean they'll bolt even earlier?
Should I pull them up now and use the plot for something else?
Sorry, first year allotment user here! (Learning quickly).

[ameno]

You can indeed eat the flowers, but their presence does indeed mean that the pak choi will now never heart up. They are in flowering mode now, so even if you cut the flowers off, more will simply grow in their place.

As for the others, I would be very surprised if they don't all bolt in fairly quick order.
Pak choi are not only very sensitive to drought (which will cause them to bolt), but day length, as well. With all oriental brassicas, the general advice is never sow before the longest day (21st June). If you sow before then, they will almost certainly bolt.
Our climate isn't the best suited to them, really. They're bred to be a winter crop in countries which have mild, frost-free winters. But our winters are too cold (the plants might survive, but they won'r grow), and in our summers the days are too long.

[Ms-T]

Thank you ameno . I too am growing it for the first time too.






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[Mr Bones]

Not wishing to be negative but I've never had much success growing pak choi. They've always been riddled by flea beetle then bolted, despite being kept well watered.
Tried a red variety one year which grew well, tasted like mustard greens though so it hit the compost...

[LesMiserable]

Thanks for the advice. Anything else for an allotment newbie in the "sounds like a good idea but will probably end in tears" bracket?

[Mr Bones]

I'd say try anything you fancy having a go at. What fails for one works for another, sometimes without any apparent rhyme or reason. Sometimes it's just down to good or bad luck, circumstances beyond your control. It's always fun to try new things and even more fun when they succeed (especially when the old allotment stalwart said it would never work ).

[toomanytommytoes]

Sow them early enough and choose a bolt resistant variety and you can get a decent crop before they go to seed. Last year I grew White F1 and it all went to seed quite early. This year we tried 2 new varieties, Rubi F1 and Joi Choi F1. They were all sown mid-February in modules in the greenhouse and transplanted outside some time in March. We've been harvesting them cut-and-come-again style and have probably had 1.5 kg of leaves from 18 plants. White F1 went to seed first a few weeks ago, Rubi F1 is just starting to go to seed and Joi Choi F1 is still going strong with no signs of bolting. Joi Choi is probably the only one I'll sow again next year as the germination rate of Rubi F1 is pretty poor and the taste can be more mustardy than I prefer. Will be sowing again after mid-summer to crop in autumn.

[LesMiserable]

As an experiment, I brought home a couple of the biggest plants today and chopped off all the leaf material and steamed the central stalks. I must say it didn't taste too bad. Not a total loss but, I will take note of your collective advice in the future.

[Ms-T]

Mine are ok at the moment..but will try doing a autumn sow in the greenhouse.






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