Paksoi Taisai is an organically grown, very fast growing cropping vegetable that originates from Eastern Asia. This delicious, very tender green has greyish green foliage that doesn't form a head but it forms a rosette. The veins and stems are white. This deliciously flavoured, somewhat exotical green looks a bit like an Eastern variety of spinach. This tender and crispy vegetable has the flavour of Chinese cabbage. The foliage is dark greyish green and the growth is very loose like a rosette.
Pak Choi is a very healthy and versatile vegetable. Pak choi contains vitamins A, B5,B6, B11, C and K. And the minerals calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, manganese and magnesium. Pak choi also contains many antioxidants and phytonutrients and like most vegetables very few calories. Pak Choi is also a very versatile vegetable. You can boil, stir-fry, steam, bake, grill, cook in the oven, add to soups and stews and also use raw in salads. Pak Choi has a deliciously crisp and mild flavour and is ideally suited for use in Chinese dishes and stir-fries. This cabbage can also be eaten as a regular vegetable after being boiled or steamed for a short while. The stems, however, take a little longer to prepare than the leaves. Pak Choi is delicious in combination with: beef, pork, chicken, minced meat, rice, noodles, noodles, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, peppers, tuna, salmon, shrimp, ginger, garlic and various nuts. Also, the taste of Pak Choi combines well with other vegetables such as: peppers, endives, spinach, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots, peppers, radishes, asparagus and lettuce. Blanche the leaves about 2 minutes before freezing them. Eat the leaves shortly after harvesting, because the leaves go soft very fast. Semi hardy annual.
Outdoor sowing: early March - October
Germination: 7 - 14 days
Germination temp.: 10 - 22 °C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Planting distance: 30 - 45 cm
Planting position: sunny
Harvest period: half May - half December
This fairly hardy vegetable can be sown from early March on, when the soil can be worked. Sow in rows approx. 60 - 76 cm apart. Sow thin and shallow and cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil (½ cm). Keep moist and weedfree. The seeds germinate in 7 - 14 days, depending on soil conditions, temperature and the weather. Water enough during dry spells. Don't let the roots lay bare, because this can cause early bolting. Sow small amounts of seeds every 2 - 3 weeks to prolong the harvest.
Add extra lime to the soil because these cabbage variety is prone to clubroot and extra lime will improve the pH in the soil and can prevent this disease. Because pak choi is a very fast growing vegetable it needs loose soil with a very good drainage. Clay soil isn't well suited for growing this type of cabbage. Give regularly water round the base of the plant, not on the leaves. Don't let the soil dry out. Protect the seedlings against snails and slugs. Give a liquid feed, about 3 - 4 weeks before the heads start to form. You can harvest in about 6 or 8 weeks after sowing. Start with harvesting a few leaves when needed or harvest a whole head.
