How to Grow Bok Choy in the Garden

Bok choy, also called Chinese cabbage or pak choi, is a cool weather vegetable closely related to common cabbage. It has glossy, deep green leaves that form a dense, white-centered cluster at maturity. Bok choy can be served fresh or added to cooked dishes. It thrives in full sun or partial shade and nutrient-rich soil with good drainage. Sow the seeds directly into the garden as soon as frost danger has passed. This allows the vegetables to reach maturity before the arrival of summer heat.

Garden fork or tiller
10-10-10 fertilizer
Garden hoe
Mulch
Knife

Instructions

- 1
  Use a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil 8 to 12 inches deep. Discard large rocks and vegetation clumps.
- 2
  Mix 10-10-10 fertilizer with the loose soil, at a rate of 3 lbs. for each 100 square feet of planting space.
- 3
  Use a garden hoe to create the desired number of rows. Leave a space of 18 to 30 inches between each row.
- 4
  Plant the bok choy seeds 1/4 inch deep and water until the soil feels lightly moist.
- 5
  Continue to water lightly when the top 1/2 inch of soil dries out.
- 6
  Thin the seedlings when they are 2 to 3 inches tall. Leave a space of 6 to 12 inches between each plant.
- 7
  Place 2 inches of mulch around the bok choy plants. Remove any weeds that emerge through the mulch by scraping over them with the side of a garden hoe.
- 8
  Harvest the mature vegetables by first pulling off all damaged leaves from the outside of each head. Use a sharp knife to sever the bok choy at soil level.

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