Producing Asian Greens for Market
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Optimizing your Asian Greens Production ©Pam Dawling 2019 Twin Oaks Community, Central Virginia Author of Sustainable Market Farming and The Year Round Hoophouse SustainableMarketFarming.com facebook.com/SustainableMarketFarming I live and farm at Twin Oaks Community, in central Virginia. We are located on Monacan land. We’re in zone 7, with an average last frost April 30 and average first frost October 14. Our goal is to feed our intentional community of 100 people with a wide variety of organic produce year round year round. www.twinoaks.org Outline 1. Meet the Asian Greens 2. Crops I recommend for easy success 3. Crops to try later 4. Crop requirements 5. Growing in spring 6. Growing in summer 7. Growing outdoors in fall 8. Crop protection: rowcover, netting, shadecloth 9. Growing in the winter hoophouse a) Packing more in Pak Choy. Credit Ethan Hirsh b) Harvesting c) Minimizing nitrate accumulation in winter 10. Pests and diseases 11. Seed saving 1. Meet the Asian Greens • Huge range of attractive varieties • Quick-growing, bring fast returns • Grow when you normally grow cabbage or kale • Short spring season, bolt when it gets hot • Long fall season, no bolting. Success depends on getting them germinated and planted in June and July Blues Napa Chinese cabbage • Grow all winter in hoophouses in shown here central Virginia Credit Ethan Hirsh Healthful Diversity Flavors vary from mild to peppery - read catalog descriptions before growing lots Colors cover the spectrum: chartreuse, bright green, dark green and purple Nutritious as well as tasty High in carotenoids, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, magnesium and fiber Help prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke They contain antioxidants which fight against cancer and protect eyes from macular Photo Credit Ethan Hirsh degeneration Advantages of Asian Greens A quick way to fill out your market booth or CSA bags A catch crop for spaces where other crops have failed or otherwise finished early. Keep a flat of seedlings ready, pop plugs into any empty spaces Better able to germinate in hot weather than lettuce Faster growing than lettuce Faster-growing types are ready for transplanting 2 Our hoophouse in November weeks after sowing (or you Photo Ethan Hirsh can direct sow) Asian Greens – Many Types 1 2 1. Senposai - cold-hardy 2. Pak Choy 3. Komatsuna - cold-hardy 4. Chrysanthemum greens 5. Yokatta-na 6. Tatsoi - cold-hardy 7. Ruby Streaks, Scarlet Frills 7 5 3 & other mustards 8. Mustard-based salad mixes 9. Mizuna 10. Yukina Savoy- cold-hardy 11. Napa Chinese Cabbage 12. Tokyo Bekana 6 13. Maruba Santoh 4 14. Mizspoona 15. Toraziroh 16. Thick-stemmed mustard 17. Hon Tsai Tai Who’s Who – 3 botanical groups 1) The turnip family, Brassica rapa, of 2) The cabbage family, B. Asian origin oleracea, of European origin a) Brassica rapa var. pekinensis (napa Kai-lan, Chinese kale, Toraziroh cabbage, michihli, celery cabbage) b) B. rapa var. chinensis (bok choy) c) B. rapa var. japonica (mizuna) d) B. rapa var. narinosa (tatsoi, Yokatta- na) e) B. rapa var. perviridis (komatsuna) Different sources use different names 3) The Chinese Mustard If you plan to grow seed of more than family, B. juncea one Asian green, carefully choose ones Ruby Streaks (shown here, that won’t cross. Be aware of the Photo Johnnys Seeds), possibility of brassica crops being Golden Frills, Red Rain, Wild Garden Pungent Mix wrongly classified 2. Crops I recommend 1a. Brassica rapa var. pekinensis. Napa cabbage • A type of wong bok • Very tender, light green leaves • Excellent for stir-fries, pickling • Hardy to about 25°F (–4°C) • We like Blues (52 days from seed to harvest) best • Kasumi has the best bolt tolerance and is larger: 5 lb (2.3 kg) compared to 4 lb (1.8 kg) • Orange Queen is a colorful but slower-growing variety (80 days) • Stores better than michihli Photo Kashruth Council of Canada types 1a. Brassica rapa var. pekinensis Michihli (Cylindrical Wong Bok) Chinese cabbage • Produces 16" (40-cm) tall heads 6" (15 cm) across. • More productive than Napa cabbage in the same space • Very tender, light green leaves • Great for stir-fries and pickling. • More stress tolerant and resistant to bolting and black speck than Napa cabbage • Cannot be stored as long. • We like Jade Pagoda (72 days) and the O-P Michihli (72 days) Photo Southern Exposure Seed Exchange 1a Brassica rapa var. pekinensis Celery cabbage (pe tsai) • A fast-growing, looseleaf, non- Photo credit Johnnys Seeds heading vegetable with light green leaves and white petioles. • Mild flavor, tender texture: can be substituted for lettuce • Can be ready for harvest 3–4 weeks after sowing. • More heat tolerant than Napa. Cold tolerant to 25°F (-4°C) • Fairly bolt resistant • Maruba Santoh and Tokyo bekana are very similar 1a or b Brassica rapa var. pekinensis or var. chinensis Tokyo Bekana • Fast-growing tender chartreuse frilly, leafy plant. • Mild flavor • 21 days to baby crop, 45 days to full maturity • The leaves and wide white stems of the mature plant provide crunch for salads • Mature plants can be chopped and lightly cooked Young Tokyo Bekana seedlings in our November hoophouse. Photo Ethan Hirsh 1a Brassica rapa var. pekinensis Maruba Santoh • A fast-growing chartreuse (yellow-green) tender-leafed plant • Can be harvested as baby leaves • Or the leaves and wide white stems of the mature plant provide crunch for salads • Or whole plants can be chopped and lightly cooked • Only 21 days to baby leaf, 35 days to maturity, and is fairly Photo Ethan Hirsh bolt resistant 1b. Brassica rapa var. chinensis Pak Choy, Bok Choi • Previously known as Chinese mustard cabbage • Sturdy white leaf stems, big green leaves. Usually harvested as a head 12"– 15" (30–38 cm) tall • 45–55 days to maturity • All are hardy down to 32°F (0°C), most varieties Photo Johnnys Seeds to 25°F (-4°C) Pak Choy • Can be picked as Red Choi Photo Kitazawa Seeds. http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_443 individual leaves, for -77.html bunches of mixed braising greens or stir- fry combinations • We grow Prize Choy or Joy Choi • There is also red choi (a 45-day, red-veined baby leaf or maroon-leaved full-size version) 1c. Brassica rapa var. japonica Mizuna (kyona) • Very easy to grow, tolerates cold wet soil • Use for baby salads after only 21 days • Or thin to 8"–12" (20– 30 cm) apart, to grow to maturity in 40 days • Fairly heat tolerant (well, warm tolerant) • Cold tolerant to 25°F (-4°C) Photo Ethan Hirsh Mizuna Photo Ethan Hirsh • Mild flavor • Ferny leaves - add color and loft in salad mixes • Regrows vigorously after cutting • Available in green or purple (but Ruby Streaks mustard is much better than Purple Mizuna!) Mizuna Ruby Streaks Strap-leaved mibuna Purple mizuna 3. Brassica juncea Red Splendor, Ruby Streaks, Golden Frills Johnny’s Red Splendor Ruby Streaks Credit Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Golden Frills 1d. Brassica rapa var. narinosa Tatsoi (tah tsoi) • A small plant, a flat rosette of shiny, dark green spoon- shaped leaves and green- white stems • 21 days for baby salads; 45 days for cooking • Mild flavor, an attractive appearance • Very cold tolerant, hardy to 10°F (–12°C) • Easy to grow - here’s how - Photo Ethan Hirsh Tat soi • Direct sow and then thin into salad mixes, leaving some to mature at 10" (25 cm) across for cooking greens. • Can transplant at 6" (15 cm) • Kitazawa Seeds have a Red Violet tatsoi/pak choy hybrid, with an upright habit Photo Wren Vile Photo Kitazawa Seeds http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_369-77.html 1e. Brassica rapa var. perviridis or Brassica rapa v. komatsuna Komatsuna Photo Fothergill Seeds • Also known as mustard spinach Photo credit Fothergill (so is Pak Choy!), Summer Fest Seeds • Green or red (purple) • Baby salad size in 21 days, full size in 35 days • A large plant 18" (45 cm) tall • Pick and bunch individual leaves • Or harvest the whole plant • The flavor is mildly peppery • Cold-tolerant to 15°F (-9.5°C), perhaps 10°F (-12°C) 1. Brassica rapa Yukina Savoy • Like a bigger tatsoi, 12" (30 cm) tall • Blistered dark green leaves and green stems • Delicious flavor • Tolerant to heat and cold – down to 10°F (-12°C) outdoors • Transplant at 12" (30 cm) • 21 days to reach baby size, 45 days to full size Photo Ethan Hirsh Yukina Savoy Outdoors in December, after several nights at 16-17°F (-8 to -9°C) Koji and Red Cloud In our experience, OP Yukina Savoy is more cold-hardy and bolt-resistant than hybrid Koji. Koji is an F1 hybrid tatsoi for baby leaf or bunching. Johnny’s Seeds, who sell it to replace Yukina Savoy, report that it is more upright and faster- maturing (21 days to baby leaf, 43 days to full size). Space 12” (30 cm) apart. Red Cloud is Johnny’s smaller, burgundy hybrid tatsoi Red Cloud photo Johnny’s Seeds Hybrid of 1e. Brassica rapa var perviridis & Brassica oleracea Senposai - Our Star of Asian Greens • A cross between komatsuna and regular cabbage. • A big non-heading plant producing large, round, mid-green leaves which are harvested leaf by leaf. • Cooks quickly (much quicker than collards) • Delicious sweet cabbagey flavor, tender texture. Photo Kathryn Simmons Senposai • Transplant at 12"–18" (30–45 cm) spacing; it really will use all this space • Grows fast. Only 40 days to mature. • Very productive, usually harvested leaf-by-leaf • Heat and cold tolerant (down to 12°F (-11°C) A bed of senposai 15” apart Photo Kathryn Simmons in the row, 3 rows in 48” Senposai in November the young hoophouse crop is almost ready to take over from the well-used outdoor crop.