Content
Pak-choy cabbage is a two-year early maturing leafy culture. Like the Peking one, it does not have a head of cabbage and looks like a salad. The plant has different names depending on the area, for example, celery and mustard.
Description of the Chinese cabbage Pak-choi
Pak-choi is a relative of Peking cabbage, but it has many differences - both external and taste. Her leaves are darker, rougher, with smooth edges. The taste is more spicy and piquant.
Pak-choi looks very impressive in the garden. Cabbage leaves form a beautiful rosette that resembles a bizarre vase. It reaches a height of 20-50 cm, and reaches 45 in diameter. Petioles and leaves can have different colors. In the first year, Pak-choy cabbage forms only a rosette, in the second year it releases a tall flower. After flowering, many seeds appear.
The stalks of cabbage are convex, thick, pressed. Usually their mass is one third of the whole plant. They are very crispy, juicy, and taste like spinach.
When choosing a cabbage, you need to pay attention to the color of the leaves and their elasticity. They should be bright, juicy, not sluggish.
You can see the Pak-choi cabbage in the photo.
Young small rosettes, which are considered to be more delicate, are especially appreciated.
Advantages and disadvantages
Chinese cabbage has many benefits:
- Ripens quickly - you can eat in a month.
- Differs in disease resistance.
- It is unpretentious - unlike the white one: it is not afraid of cold weather, it can tolerate small frosts not lower than -4 ° C, it is not picky about soils, it does not require careful preparation of the beds for planting.
- It is rich in vitamins, including A, B1, B2, C, PP, K. It contains iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, as well as citric acid, pectin, fiber, bioactive elements.
- Low-calorie - contains only 13 kcal per 100 g.
- It is actively used in cooking - it is fried, stewed, baked, pickled, boiled. Salads and various savory snacks are prepared from it.
- It looks very impressive on the garden bed: its leaves form a beautiful rosette, which resembles a bizarre vase.
Pak-choi practically has no minuses and contraindications for use, or they are very insignificant.
The yield of the Pak-choy collard
This indicator may differ depending on the Pak-choy variety. The high-yielding ones include the following (in kg / sq. M):
Variety | Kg / sq. m |
Swallow | 10 |
Alyonushka | 9 |
In memory of Popova | 10 |
Four seasons | 7,5 |
Peahen | 10 |
Swan | 5-7,5 |
Less productive varieties of Pak-choi cabbage:
Variety | Kg / sq. m |
Vitavir | 6,2 |
Goluba | 6 |
Beauty of the East | 6 |
Corolla | 5 |
Chill | 6,5 |
Yuna | 5 |
Chingensai | 3 |
Lynn and Maggie | 3,8 |
Purple miracle | 2 |
Vesnyanka | 2,7 |
Some varieties of cabbage are highly productive.
When to plant Pak-choi
You can sow seeds in the soil already in April at a temperature of +4 ° C. Sowing Pak-choi cabbage is carried out in batches at intervals of one week, which allows you to enjoy young leaves for longer. Overgrown plants become too coarse and therefore less valuable.
Seedlings are planted in open ground or in a greenhouse at the age of 2-3 weeks, when 4-5 true leaves appear on the cabbage sprouts. The air temperature outside should rise to + 15-17 ° C.
Growing and leaving of the Pak-choi Chinese cabbage
For growing Pak-choi, a well-lit area is chosen from seeds where precipitation does not stagnate. It is recommended to prepare a bed for spring sowing in the fall. It's good if beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, cucumbers grew here before.
Fertilizers must be applied to the soil. For each square meter, you will need half a bucket of humus, 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate, 2 tbsp. l. superphosphate. After making the ground, dig up to the depth of the shovel bayonet. For acidic soils, you need chalk, dolomite flour or hydrated lime.
In the spring, the beds for cabbage should be loosened, leveled, and not too deep grooves should be formed at a distance of 30 cm from each other. Water the soil and plant the seeds to a depth of about 1 cm. Before planting Pak-choy cabbage seeds, in about two days, it is recommended to treat them with a solution of microelements so that they germinate better.
After the seedlings have two leaves, they must be thinned out so that the distance between them is about 30 cm.
If you want to see cabbage on the table as early as possible, it is better to grow it in seedlings.
To grow seedlings, well-moistened seeds are sown in a container with soil prepared in advance. Sowing time for cabbage depends on the climate of the region. It is usually held from late March to mid-April. If the seeds of Pak-choi cabbage are immediately planted in individual containers, you will not need to pick. Usually 2 seeds are placed in one pot, after germination a more powerful sprout is left.
Pak-choi needs regular watering, thanks to which the stalks become juicy. If the soil is constantly dry, the cabbage will be tasteless and rough in texture. But excessive moisture is not recommended, the moisture in the ground should be in moderation, otherwise the plant may begin to rot.
Early ripe cabbage does not need fertilization if it was applied during the planting period. On humus-poor soils, 2 dressings are carried out. These are usually natural fertilizers. A solution of cow dung (1 to 10) with an admixture of wood ash works especially well on Pak-choi.
After a month, you can have low-growing early varieties of Pak-choi cabbage on the table, if you provide it with proper care. Tall specimens will mature about 2 weeks later.
Diseases and pests
Like most garden crops, cabbage is susceptible to disease and pest attacks.
Pak-choi do not have many enemies, but in large clusters, they can destroy a significant part of the crop.
To combat cruciferous flea, planting is treated once a week with a mixture of wood ash and tobacco dust, taken in equal amounts. These insects are especially dangerous for young cabbage. Potatoes, tomatoes, caraway seeds, coriander, dill planted around the beds with Pak-choy will help protect against this pest. It can also be flowers: marigolds, nasturtium, calendula.
The cruciferous flea makes large holes in the leaves, which slows down growth.
One of the popular ways of dealing with cruciferous flea beetles is vinegar 9%. A glass of vinegar is poured into a bucket of water and cabbage leaves are sprayed. Of the chemicals, Kinmix has proven itself well.
Another dangerous enemy is the cabbage whitefish. It is best to destroy it in the initial stage. To do this, periodically you need to check the back side of Pak-choy cabbage leaves and neighboring plants for the presence of egg-laying and remove them. With an adult caterpillar, it is much more difficult to fight. From folk remedies against this pest, ash, infusion of tobacco or wormwood are used.
You can make a mustard infusion. For 100 g of mustard powder, you need to take 10 liters of water, leave for several days, then dilute it by half.
Garden slugs and rain snails can significantly spoil crops. Usually they are collected by hand or bait from alcoholic infusion and bran is installed.
Pak-choi is resistant to most diseases and often gardeners and gardeners manage to avoid them.
Application
Cabbage is primarily used in cooking. Pak-choi has all its parts edible - both roots and leaves. It is fried, stewed, baked with vegetables and meat, used as a side dish.
Heat treatment kills many nutrients. Therefore, the best way to eat cabbage is fresh salads, which are sources of vitamins. Bell peppers, carrots, ginger, sesame and other ingredients go well with Pak-choi. Vegetable salads are seasoned with lemon juice, olive or sunflower oil.
Chinese cabbage is convenient and easy to peel and cut
Before cooking, the cabbage leaves are separated from the petiole, then chopped or chopped. The latter is cut into circles.
In addition to cooking, Pak-choi is used in folk medicine. It is believed to have anti-inflammatory, diuretic, laxative properties. The juice and fresh cabbage leaves accelerate the healing process of wounds and burns. The vegetable helps fight constipation, makes bones strong, and prevents the development of Alzheimer's disease. Due to the content of B vitamins, it has a positive effect on the nervous system.
Conclusion
Pak-choy cabbage is a healthy vegetable that is loved not only for its excellent taste, but also for its easy cultivation, unpretentiousness, and health benefits. It refers to dietary products, well suited for people who adhere to a healthy diet.
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