If You Only Sow 1 Crop This Month, Try This…

Tah tsai or tatsoi is a popular Oriental brassica that produces dark green, spoon-shaped leaves. You can sow them now, but they also benefit from late autumn sowings to reduce the risk of bolting, and impatient growers can enjoy yields from as little as four weeks. It’s also very versatile and can be continuously picked as a cut-and-come-again crop or left to mature into large heads.

Start sowing

Pick a partially shaded spot to grow this crop in order to control temperatures – this should stop them from bolting. Make sure the soil is rich and fertile, with a pH balance of around 7 – adding organic matter will give it a nutritional boost.

Sow seeds outdoors 1cm deep between April and August. Depending on how large you want your yields to be, you’ll need to give them plenty of space to develop. Allow 15cm if you want baby leaves and 45cm for a mature plant. Be sure to provide a cloche covering to protect seedlings from harsh weather conditions if you’re starting them early in the season, before the risk of frosts has passed.

Water them regularly as they grow to avoid bitter-tasting veg.

Pick baby leaves from the plant by hand once they reach the required size. Mature tatsoi will be ready to harvest around two months after sowing – cut the head away from the main plant using a knife. Once you’ve collected your yields, make sure to wash them thoroughly.

It’s best to eat this veg fresh as a tasty substitute for spinach in many dishes, but it will also keep in the fridge for three to five days if wrapped in a damp paper towel and stored in a plastic bag.

More information about growing Oriental vegetables is available in the July issue of Grow Your Own, which will be on sale from June 5.

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