I didn’t know you could grow Pak Choi in the Summer time. I thought they were an autumn growing plant and as I was looking at a seed catalogue online, they came up to start sowing in March to May for a Summer Harvest.

Pak Choi has a long oval shaped leaf with a small ridged stem at the base. They are a well known vegetable used in stir fries but can also be eaten raw in salads or coleslaws and can be braised or steamed.

How to Sow Pak Choi

You will need:

• A cell tray or small pots,
• Compost, I have used peat free.
• A dibber or a pencil,
• Watering can
• Pak Choi Seeds, I’m sowing variety: Summer Breeze F1 from MoreVeg

How to sow Pak Choi

• 1. Fill your seed tray, cell tray or pots with compost.
• 2. Use a pencil or dibber to make a small hole in the compost about 1cm deep and put a seed in the hole.
• 3. Cover with compost and water well.
• 4. Place in an unheated greenhouse in a sunny position and leave for 1-2 weeks to germinate.
• 5. When the seedlings have grown on for 3 weeks, you may need to pot on to bigger pots. Then a week or so after that plant outside when all signs of frost have passed, or place under a cloche or fleece.

Health Benefits of eating Pak Choi

Pak Choi is a super food when it comes to the amount of vitamins and nutrients in the green leaves and white stem.

Pak Choi is high in Calcium, Vitamin K, iron and magnesium which are all essential for healthy skin and hair. It also contains Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

The green leaves are rich in fibre and good for gut health.

Handy Tips on Growing your own Pak Choi

• Choose a Summer variety that is heat tolerant and bolt resistant.
• Growing Pak Choi is a great companion to lettuce, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, garlic and onions but they don’t like being planted near peas or tomatoes.
• Pak Choi is a cool weather cabbage. The Latin name for it is Brassica Rapa. It is also known as Bok Choi and Chinese white cabbage.
• Pak Choi can be grown in containers and doesn’t mind a bit of shade.
• Pak Choi is an easy to grow vegetable, perfect for beginner vegetable growers. My Pak Choi has grown quicker than my lettuce seedlings.