Chinese cabbage pak choi: characteristics, cultivation and popular recipes

If you are tired of fairly common Peking cabbage, it is recommended to turn your attention to Chinese cabbage pak choi.This variety is very easy to grow in the garden. It is unpretentious and is able to please gardeners several times during the season. Chinese cabbage combines an unusual, savory taste, similar to arugula, and a storehouse of vitamins, which makes it a welcome guest on any table.

Pak-choi today is very popular among Russian gardeners. This results from the fact that it differs in frost resistance - that is, it is capable to grow in difficult conditions of our country, and also fast maturing.

Chinese cabbage pak-choi, also called bok choi, belongs to the cabbage family. In another way it is called celery or mustard. This plant was born in China, but today it is grown both throughout Asia and in Europe. The inhabitants of the Celestial Empire dubbed the pak-choi an oil-based vegetable, because it is customary to make oil from its seed. In translation, the name means "horse ear". Although bok choi is related to Peking cabbage, they differ in many ways.

Externally, the vegetable looks more like a bunch of large-leafed exotic lettuce than a traditional cabbage. The leaves of the plant have a bright green shade, and the stalks are white. The heading is not formed, so the corrugated leaves are assembled into an upright outlet. The latter has a diameter of 30 to 35 centimeters. The length of this cabbage is about 15 centimeters, and the height varies from 10 to 50 centimeters.

Sizes usually depend on the variety. The weight of one outlet reaches about 1 kilogram, but only on condition of high-quality care. In the first year of life, this plant forms a rosette of leaves, and in the second, it grows a tall peduncle. After flowering numerous seeds appear, which are most often used for further reproduction.

To taste, dense white, tightly attached petioles of this kind of cabbage very much resemble spinach. If we talk about the leaves, they have a bright green or gray-green color. They taste bitter, arugula-like and have a pleasant aftertaste. Pak-choi contains a huge amount of trace elements and nutrients, for example, magnesium, potassium, lysine and vitamin C. The caloric value of 100 grams of a plant is about 13 kilocalories.

At the cottage they usually grow cabbage and plant it in the middle of summer, ideally in early July. Sow on the beds in the grooves with a depth of 3-4 centimeters. Chinese cabbage is unpretentious, so it can easily grow in the ground with a small amount of additives and, in general, the soil of any state. Cabbage tasting is available about a month after planting. In warm countries, bok-choi are planted a couple of times in a season.

Chinese cabbage contains a large number of trace elements, as well as minerals, including lysine amino acids. The latter increases the ability of the human body to resist diseases and dissolves foreign proteins that enter the blood of the individual. Besides, This kind belongs to low-calorie foods, so Pak-choi is often chosen by those who want to lose weight or lead a healthy lifestyle. A large amount of fiber well cleans the intestines from toxins, and blood - from cholesterol. Among other things, the use of this cabbage is used to prevent constipation.

Ascorbic acid is found in the leaves of the side-choi, which is concomitant with improving the skin and increasing the strength and elasticity of the vessels. In addition, it contains vitamins A and K. The first has an effect on the rejuvenation of skin cells and improvement of vision, and the second - on blood clotting.

There are two main types of pak-choi, which differ in color: dark green and light green. But, in addition to them, there are other varieties, for example, with red leaves or white petioles. In general, the difference lies in the appearance, maturity and size.Among the representatives of the Russian selection distinguish "Swallow", "Lebedushka", "Pava" and "Alenushka". In our country, there is also the possibility of acquiring Japanese Mari, Pagoda and Express.

The fast ripening “Vesnyanka” allows you to taste the cabbage already 20 days after full sprouting. It has soft leaves of green shade and white petioles. "Chill F1" is a hybrid and is ready for use one month after germination. The socket has a light green color, and the stem is pale green. "Araks" clearly stands out from the rest of the varieties with its bright purple color. He is not inferior in taste characteristics.

"Four Seasons" can be called a mini-variety, because its height reaches only 20 centimeters, which is very little for a pack-choi. Leaves and scapes of this specimen have a delicate light green color. Pava is a mixture of Chinese and Chinese cabbage. Its leaves are large and rich green, and the stalks are white, fleshy and crispy.

Growing cabbage bok choi usually begins with the organization of seedlings. In this state, it is from three to four weeks. If it is necessary for the seeds to germinate in a short time, and for the seedlings to be strong, they will be planted in loose soil. As a rule, this stage takes place at the end of March in the format of several steps with interruptions. It is customary to plant ten seeds at a time in separate small peat pots. Twenty days later, germination, which can be carried out on a glassed-in balcony, is completed, which can be understood by the appearance of five to seven leaves and a formed root. Seedlings are planted when the temperature in the greenhouse or on the street already reaches 17 degrees Celsius.

If it is decided to abandon the seedlings, it will have to be planted with seeds immediately on the garden bed. Even rows are formed, the distance between which is 30 centimeters. From above the planted seeds are covered with a film, it is better from polyethylene, and then everything is sprinkled with ash. In about seven days, primary sprouts are to be expected, which must be thinned, leaving approximately 20 centimeters between shoots.

The first two weeks after planting, the plant should be irrigated with water every 3-4 days so that there are 7-8 liters per 1 square meter of vegetable garden. After the procedure, a slight earthing up and loosening is immediately carried out - the “paths” between the beds are processed 5-8 centimeters deep. After that you can limit yourself to one irrigation per week, but increase the volume of water to 10-12 liters. Although Chinese cabbage does not need additional feeding, a one-time watering with herbal solution can only be beneficial.

In that case when it is necessary to work in an open ground, the soil is processed even the previous autumn. It is dug over and fertilized with organic matter with superphosphate and lime. When spring comes, the bed should be loosened, and the procedure will be repeated just before planting.

In order to grow bok-choi seamlessly, it is recommended to consider a landing site. The territory should not coincide with where some other cabbage was growing before, as well as radish, rutabaga, turnip and radish, in order to avoid common pests. Well planted it after onions, legumes, pumpkin and grain crops. After planting, you should not use any chemicals, because cabbage has a very short growing season.

Choosing a month of disembarkation, one should think about the desired appearance and properties of cabbage. Chinese cabbage is a plant that prefers a short light day, so it is preferable to plant it in early March or at the end of summer, because when sown from May to June, it is able to produce an arrow and bloom. A side-choi planted in April will produce a significant vegetative mass. May guarantees rapid growth, but the likelihood of arrows, and July cabbage will yield the greatest yieldIf the climate is warm, then you can plant both in August and in September - the plants will have time to ripen before the onset of frost. Cabbage will not only produce a bountiful harvest, but will also ripen ten days faster than it ripens in spring.

To protect the cabbage from cruciferous flea, it is recommended to periodically loosen the soil and often water it. Spraying tobacco infusions and sprinkling the bed with ashes will also help fight insects. When the leaves start to form, the likelihood of the appearance of caterpillar eggs will increase, so it is important to periodically inspect the leaves with pak-choi and, if necessary, remove them. Getting rid of snails is also important - otherwise they will gnaw through the entire furrows in the leaves.

In general, the following solutions are used for pests:

• liquid soap with sifted ash;
• an infusion based on garlic head and fresh tomato leaves;
• liquid soap with dandelion roots;
• acetic water;
• infusion based on green wormwood with garlic arrows.

The soil in the garden is always required wet, loosened and, as a result, fertile. Transfer to it is carried out by a transshipment method. Earthen clod with seedlings stuck in a pre-dug hole, the roots are covered with earth. Then the surface is compacted and watered with water, which is previously worth defending. After planting, the bok-choi should be watered periodically, followed by a shallow loosening of the soil, no additional maintenance will be required. In dry weather, sprinkling is helpful.

It is worth adding that experts still recommend feeding cabbage sockets, and twice during their stay in the garden. For the first time, chicken dung, an infusion of herbs or a mullein solution is used - one and a half weeks after the appearance of full shoots. The following feeding occurs during the active growing season.

Judging by the reviews, Chinese cabbage, indeed, has a positive effect on health. Especially beneficial is lysine, which can prevent the onset of oncological diseases. Most often, pak choi is chosen for making salads in the raw state, but cabbage can also be stewed as a side dish or prepared as a separate dish, for example, traditional Korean kimchi. All parts of the plant are used in food: first of all, the stalks are subjected to heat treatment, and then the leaves themselves. Cabbage is also added to soups, pickled and dried. It combines remarkably with potatoes, legumes, carrots, rice, mushrooms, meat and fish. When cooking, the leaves undergo a minimal heat treatment, retaining the crunchy texture and smell, but changing the bitter taste to a sweetish one.

Most often, young cobers with delicate leaves are chosen for food. They are consumed fresh, and the stalks are cooked: stewed or boiled.

Often, this vegetable becomes a salvation for diet supporters and people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and heart. Cabbage juice will help in the case when you need to quickly put in order wounds or burns. Doctors recommend that Chinese cabbage and pregnant women be introduced into the diet, because it also contains folic acid. The only case where it is clearly contraindicated - in the case of allergies. But it is also worth limiting the adoption of a product for diabetes, liver problems, flatulence, or diarrhea.

Collect cabbage as follows: the socket is cut with a sharp knife at a distance of 1.5 cm from the base. It is not intended for long storage, it is better to eat it right away. If it is necessary to preserve the vegetable for several days, then it is necessary to act in a certain way: disassemble the sockets, clean the dirt, dry, detach the leaves from the petioles.The first fit into a package or plastic packaging, the second - the same, but always in an airtight container. After this, pak-choi can be left in the fridge. When buying Chinese cabbage, be sure to pay close attention to the appearance of the leaves. They should be fresh, rich in color, medium in size and cracked with a crunch.

For more on Chinese cabbage pak choi, see the next video.