If growing fresh winter vegetables tops your list of things to do this month, don’t pass up the bok choy starts at the nursery. This Asian vegetable is easy to grow and thrives in cool, wet weather. The succulent leaves and stems are full of nutrients like calcium, potassium, iron and vitamin C.
At the nursery, you will usually find two basic kinds. The small, baby variety called Mei Quing Choi grows about 8 inches tall and sports lime green leaves and pale green succulent petioles. Petiole is the mid rib, or stem, of a leaf. With this bok choy, it is best to plant small starts that are not root bound. Overgrown plants will bolt quickly and stop producing foliage.
Joi Choi is a much larger bok choy that produces a full-sized head averaging about 12 inches tall. Leaves are deep green with a white succulent stem. This type is slower to bolt.
Purple Choi is a small plant that rarely gets more than 5 inches tall before bolting. It has purple leaves and green petioles. This one is great for salads.
While bok choy grows without fuss during the winter on the coast, it is highly favored by slugs and snails. One little slug can riddle a plant’s leaves overnight. Beware of even the tiniest slug.
The best way to grow a clean crop of bok choy free of slug damage is to grow it in a large, clean nursery container filled with a top quality potting soil.
I also like to grow bok choy for butterflies. A few plants are left to go flower during the spring. Stalks of beautiful yellow, mustard-type flowers are a good source of early food for early spring butterflies and many other pollinators.
Terry Kramer is the retired site manager for the Humboldt Botanical Garden and a trained horticulturist and journalist. She has been writing a garden column for the Times-Standard since 1982. She currently runs a gardening consulting business. Contact her at 707-834-2661 or terrykramer90@gmail.com.
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