Grow Your Own Magazine

hi i have got pak choi growing but i dont know it it should look like cellery i e thick stems before picking or just take the leafs can someone help plz thanks in advance

Hi, nosferato, i have pak chi growing still i do both pick leaves and full plants, it depends on how much i want, salads, or steam veg. it does look like celery, if left to grow

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Mick aka murfe 18

I've got some growing outside pots and was wondering how hardy is it.
Like will it die at the first sign of frosts?

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Bren

Hi Bren,

I grow several types of pak choy too, they love cool but can't take frost ( tat soy seems to be very strong, but they also need some frost protection ). If you can move them in a green house or provide them with some cloches, they should be able to survive the frost ( but not the severe frost I am afraid ).

Momol

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I grow, I pick, I eat ...

Mine have gone to seed again over the last couple of weeks, but I picked them and put them in the fridge and ate the last lot tonight in a stir fry. I just chop up a bit of everything and throw it in the wok!

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~
Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.
~ Mary Kay Ash

It's up to you how you want to eat them, as baby pak choi or as bigger thick stems leaves (if they get there like you see in the picture ). Obviously if you have them smaller, they're bound to taste better being nice n tender (as in baby courgettes, baby carrots, the sort) but for me personally, I often feel I don't have the luxury and wait for the them to get bigger so that I have more of the leafy stuffs to eat.

But the bigger stuffs don't always end up looking gorgeous like they're supposed to!!! with the bolting etc that happened to my summer grown. The 2nd batch that I grew in August, I cannot be sure whether they'll be just as ugly looking but perfectly edible. Me thinks bigger beautiful looking pak choi is an art form if you're home grower.

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Food for Free

Mr Sluggy seems to be enjoying mine more than I am. First time of growing so don't know what to expect.

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Catch up with my daily doings at http://kaypeesplot.blogspot.com/ and http://kaypeeslottie.blogspot.com/

Momol thanks for the advice, I've not got a greenhouse so will have to think of some way to cover my Pak choi just now its growing in buckets on the patio table.
Seems to be safe from slugs up there

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Bren

I scatter slug pellets around the pak choi (esp when they're seedlingsl) or else the slugs will finish them off = no crop to eat . Once they're big enough, I don't mind a small loss to slugs so I either reduce or stop using the pellets.

But there is a the 'beer pool' way too as slugs love beer, they get drowned if you put a bowl of beer next to your veggies...then need to consider the rain too...then there is an expensive beer slug trap like a bowl with a rain cover.

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Food for Free