Bolting chinese brassicas... grrr!

[Cutecumber]

I'm so cross with myself.

I just can't get any Pak Choi or Chinese Cabbage to do what it's supposed to.

Every other year or so, I try again, but they always bolt. True to form, they've just done it again! They looked fine yesterday. I sowed in July, in modules, and transferred to large containers with a decent mix of compost and organic fertiliser.

I know they are still edible once bolted, but I really want a proper plant.

I realise that they have a tendency to bolt if too hot, too cold, too dry, growth checked etc, but I thought I had avoided all of those.

I'm getting through Joy Larkcom's Oriental Veg book to see what she says, but I've not had a Eureka! moment as yet.

So, how do you guys do it? What should I try?

[sewer rat]

Cutecumber
I have tried two sowings / plantings of Pak Choi - both have bolted - third one started in modules in polytunnel last week.
Started Chinese Cabbage "The Blues three weeks ago and they've been outside for a week now and seem to be surviving - in so much as they are puting on fresh growth and no signs of bolting as yet - having said that, I'll go out tomorrow and find they've all bolted now
Will let you know.
All I can think of is that Pak Choi prefers to be sown later in the season so maybe July was a bit early.
Alice may be able to help - I recall her posting piccies of her Pak Choi fairly recently and she seemed to have healthy mature looking plants.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't think they;re worth the bother. My chinese anything always bolt before I can eat them, no matter when I sow them

[Geordie]

The only success I had was with the variety Joi Choi, sown in the greenhouse border in March and harvested May as tomatos went in. Have tried various sowings outside but plant seems to tempremental to avoid bolting!

[veg4681]

My Pak Choi bolted ages ago but I didn't pick them even when the flower first started appearing because the few I had picked, I noticed had tiny baby leaves underneath yet to develop...I thought what a waste as there weren't much of the bigger outer leaves.

Lack of planning to cook Chinese stir fry as I'm having to eat off my courgettes/marrow from the garden, my remaining Pak Chois look a little like brussel sprout plant but I believe I get more (to eat) out of Pak Choi this way. Okay it's not the usual pretty specimen you get in the supermarket that you pay through the nose but they're perfectly edible.

Allowed to grow like this (looking like Brussel Sprouts), you can eat all the stem(s) up to the point they're tender (like Broccoli's) and you also get more than one bolting bits (with nice tender flowers) per plant which I find are a little like sprouting broccoli. And don't forget, you can still eat the leaves off the strange looking giant pak choi. I'll try take a picture if I can manage to attach to a post.

Same thing happening to my Perpetual Spinach (beet) where I'm eating the bolting bits that are quite tender. My spinach are over (far too big) but I can't bring myself to pull them out just yet.

[Cutecumber]

It's such a pain - I really love the texture of the stems of Pak Choi and Chinese Cabbage.

I'll sow some more today and see what happens in the next few weeks.

[nosferato]

ok newbie question .. what is meant by bolted?

[veg4681]

ok newbie question .. what is meant by bolted?

Nobody's replied to this so I'll try my best even though I don't consider myself an expert in veg gardening.

My understanding of bolting is something that occurs in leafy vegetables (think of lettuce, spinach, pak choic etc) whereby the stem in the middle shoots out above the leaves. This stem may have flowers on them which may then turn into seeds. This may prevent more leaves from growing = less leaves to eat.

Bolting may mean it's time to pull out the whole plant and eat it but some people like me, I don't mind eating the bolting bits (if they're still tender and tasty enough). When a plant bolt, it's just no longer looks like a normal plant.

If you're growing lettuce, at some point you'll see what bolting looks like if you don't pull the whole lettuce...as there are lettuce variety you cut certain leaves for eating without having to pull the whole plant.

[Geordie]

I would term bolting as the premature and unwelcome flowering of your vegetable, often as a result of drought, starvation or high temperatures. The flowering can occur before it develops its crop, in the case of the pak choi etc or afterwards in the case of lettuce etc.

[nosferato]

oh i see so basically it going form shoot>small plant>going to seed/flower with no bit in the middle where you'd harvest it thank you for your time and replays

[Cutecumber]

The good thing is that Pak Choi and Chinese Cabbage remain pleasantly edible when bolted (at least in the early days) - I made a great stir fry last night with a couple of flowering plants. Yummy!

It would be nice to get a bit more bulk, but the flavour was fine.