Rocket and pak choi bolting

[w33blegurl]

Any tips to stop these two bolting? So far none of my plants have made it much passed 1 inch high before they went!

Ta!

[happyhumph]

Rocket & pal choice both unfortunately have a tenancy to bolt in spring, combination of a cold period followed by warm weather - it's kind of what they do ( a friend who uses her greenhouse just for rocket has it full of leggy bolted plants at the mo). Bst thing to do is regular successional so wings. Keep them well watered & provide a bit of shade. As for the ones you have, rocket can apparently be cooked though I haven't tried it.....

[Penellype]

Brassicas in general can be tricky particularly in the spring when many of them have a tendency to bolt. They hate being waterlogged, but if they dry out they will quickly bolt. Most of the oriental greens including pak choi do better if sown from June onwards, and are best direct sown rather than transplanted - pak choi has very shallow roots. I grow mine in self watering pots to stop them getting too wet or drying out. They wilt in hot weather and get all the insect pests that plague cabbages, so you need to net them.

[w33blegurl]

Thanks! I'll try them in the saladgrow then a bit later in the year!

[Kirk]

Unsure of how true but have heard/read that the reason the pak-choi bolt is owing to the long days short night cycle of the summer.

Being somewhat tropical they are evolved for a night/day divide of about equal amounts, at this latitude and time of year they are getting about 18 hours of light and 6 of dark. They get stressed and bolt.

Would therefore make sense to try around either of the equinox's but the spring equinox (March) is too cold, which leaves the autumn one as the best possibility. More equal light/dark and temperature may be OK. Could test it by planting in August and see what transpires.

No idea about the Rocket, none of my first sowing developed, and the second sowing (last week) is sprouting happily after about 4 days - something odd going on there.

[KairdiffKid]

I've heard that pak-choi, chinese cabbage etc are best planted after the summer solstice as it's the increasing levels of daylight that stress the plant. The warmth could be a problem but I suspect an average British summer might not be too big a problem.

Personally I'm planning on sowing small amounts of chinese cabbage every 3-4 weeks after the 21st June, to see what does best for the micro climate of my plot.