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Are any of my autumn/winter spinach/chinese/salad worth avoiding until nearer Autumn?

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  • Are any of my autumn/winter spinach/chinese/salad worth avoiding until nearer Autumn?

    I have numerous Autumn/winter salad and spring (?) seeds. To make this easy, I'm talking in particular about:
    • Tatsoi
    • Mibuna
    • Mizuna
    • Chinese cabbage - Michilli
    • Chinese Kale
    • Chinese Chop Suey Greens
    • Red Choy Sum
    • Spinach - Medania
    • Spinach - Giant Winter


    I have read that certain chinese vegetables (such as tatsoi) do better in the autumn, and I've had pretty shoddy success with planting spring tatsoi, red choy sum and to a certain extent, Mibuna... though I believe this may be in part to my lacklustre efforts last year, and late attempts at planting. I also had terrible 'success' with my giant winter spinach.

    I live about ten miles North of Newcastle in Cramlington, Northumberland and I planted seeds for all of the above into indoor seed trays on 23/3/2017. The seedlings are all either beginning to sprout, or have formed into little seedlings.

    But I'm wondering if any of the seedlings are worth just postponing until Autumn? If so, which ones? Or could I make a good go at them?

    I'm in particular thinking Tatsoi, Red Choy Sum, Mibuna, Michilli and Giant Winter Spinach.

    Any help much appreciated. I'd love to make a decent go at some of these... but don't want to waste time.

    (I'll be planting loads of chard/beetroot/rocket/etc/etc/etc too, so it wouldn't be such a big deal to lose some if it made sense to do so)

    Cheers, any input much appreciated!

  • #2
    Of the varieties you mention, I grow mibuna, mizuna, choy sum and giant winter spinach. I have never had much success with choy sum and I grow it mainly indoors for microgreens/baby leaf. I sow the spinach in August for an early spring crop (ready mid-March, before the spring sown spinach).

    I sowed some mibuna in September last year and they grew slowly over the winter, giving a few leaves now and then, before producing a flush of leaves in February and bolting in March.

    Mizuna will grow well in spring but bolts fairly quickly. I use some as a quick catch crop (it grows well in pots). Sown in August it will produce leaves throughout the winter before flowering in March. Other chinese greens such as tatsoi and namenia behave similarly but may be less hardy than mizuna. Pak choi will give edible hearts before winter if sown in August. I have not had any success with chinese cabbage.

    None of these need much heat and will not grow well if they are too hot. You can sow and grow them outside now.
    A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP. - Leonard Nimoy

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