Oriental leaves and bolting.

[marchogaeth]

Oriental salad leaf mixes have done really well for keeping us in tasty greens but I thought I'd buy the idividual packets of seed rather than the ready mix to give more options and with a view to seed saving.

I sow my mix all year round and cut and come again until the plants are exhausted but on the seed packets I have it says not to plant most of them until after mid summer or they will bolt. Am I correct in assuming that this only applies if you are letting the plants get large?

Does any one have any specific mix proportions that they use or is it just a pinch here and there?

Thanks
M

[out in the cold]

I am trying a few varieties this year and noticed this as well. Not really sure, but I figured the seed company knew their stuff

[Matt94]

I grow Pak choi and I either sow it at the beginning of the season or the end, if you sow the mid summer they do tend to bolt in my experience! - so the answer to you question is no, the bolting doesn't just occur when the plants are old, it can also happen when weather suddenly changes.

[veggiechicken]

Its something about day length. Either sow early or after midsummer's day.

[GardenNinja]

When I tried to sow oriental vegetables in the summer last year, most of them bolted very quickly and the stems became very tough with small leaves that were slightly bitter.

As veggiechicken mentioned above, they will bolt with lengthening daylight, but I have read that producers of pak choi solve this issue by completely covering the plants daily after a certain amount of daylight to encourage leafy growth and delay bolting.

[Kirk]

They bolt as they grow when planted here during the summer.
As said the problem is the length of daylight. Their native origin is where the day/night split is pretty even. We have short days and long days, this is unnatural to them and they bolt.

For "success" they need to be planted in spring or late summer, basically around the equinox's when the day/night ratio is what they are used to. As March 21st trends to be early and cold here that is not a great time, that leaves September.

They germinate fairly fast so a planting in mid/late August or early September is most likely the best chance.

[marchogaeth]

I know about the "why" they bolt, thanks. I wanted to know at what growth stage they bolt. If I'm picking them as baby leaves (CACA) I usually take out any flower stalks anyway. The seed mixes I buy crop for ages on this basis. Is there a fundamental difference. Ninja were yours CACA and still not really any good as a mid summer sown crop? Perhaps I've not had a sowing that's coincided with peak bolting even though I grow 4 or 5 lots a year.

[GardenNinja]

Hi marchogaeth, what is CACA? Also, can I ask what varieties you are growing and what is the growing environment?

... and yes, mine bolted at such an early stage that the leaves were still young but tasted like older leaves with stronger flavour and tougher texture. They were around 3-5 inches high with very few leaves when this happens. Like you, I took out the flower stalks, which prompted them to produce side stalks, but these too form mainly flower stalks with one or two very small leaves.

As I mentioned above, most of them were very quick to bolt, but some were better at 'resisting' bolting enough so that I got a decent harvest before they formed flowers. Varieties such as mizuna, mibuna, kailaan, and pak choi 'joi choi' (all other pak choi varieties bolted very quickly) were the latest to bolt for me. The worst offenders were Tsoi Sim (aka choi sum) and komatsuna.

[out in the cold]

I have Choi Sum and Mizuna...

[Linzy]

i would imagine that if you are constantly harvesting the plant it would put its energy into producing new growth

[alldigging]

Hi marchogaeth, what is CACA? Also, can I ask what varieties you are growing and what is the growing environment?
.

Cut and cut again. Or cut and come again.

[marchogaeth]

Hi marchogaeth, what is CACA? Also, can I ask what varieties you are growing and what is the growing environment?

... and yes, mine bolted at such an early stage that the leaves were still young but tasted like older leaves with stronger flavour and tougher texture. They were around 3-5 inches high with very few leaves when this happens. Like you, I took out the flower stalks, which prompted them to produce side stalks, but these too form mainly flower stalks with one or two very small leaves.

As I mentioned above, most of them were very quick to bolt, but some were better at 'resisting' bolting enough so that I got a decent harvest before they formed flowers. Varieties such as mizuna, mibuna, kailaan, and pak choi 'joi choi' (all other pak choi varieties bolted very quickly) were the latest to bolt for me. The worst offenders were Tsoi Sim (aka choi sum) and komatsuna.

Cut and cut again. Or cut and come again.

Sorry Ninja, I missed your reply and question. Thanks AD for picking up.

i would imagine that if you are constantly harvesting the plant it would put its energy into producing new growth

That's what I thought but it's obviously not what Ninja found so I am going to wait to sow everything except the early Mizuna until after the longest day. When I've bulked up my seed supply (or have some old seed) I might have an experiment. My last sowing of mixed seed was in January and that is only just exhausted but the plants are trying to flower really hard. As I grow in hanging mushroom boxes it would be quite easy to fool them into thinking they were on long days but that always seems a bit cruel!

[Scarlet]

I love mizuna! I sow early Feb undercover and harvest till now . You can eat the flower stalks. May/ june / july sowings usually get attacked by flea beetle and also flower quickly but you can get some cuttings. Best sowing months aug and sept.
really good book - Salad leaves for all seasons by Charles Dowding. It really is my Salad Bible and well worth a read.

[chickbob]

There are lots of oriental greens that either don't bolt or u actually want to bolt as the flowers and stems tasty too. I know I should be on commission, but realseeds have great selection and a great book is oriental veg or the organic salad garden, both by Joy Larkom

[marchogaeth]

There are lots of oriental greens that either don't bolt or u actually want to bolt as the flowers and stems tasty too. I know I should be on commission, but realseeds have great selection and a great book is oriental veg or the organic salad garden, both by Joy Larkom

Mine are all from RS and all apart from the Mizuna specifically say plant after midsummer.