Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis
Chinese cabbage
Common names: Peking cabbage, Celery cabbage
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Spacing
- 35 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Jul–Aug
- Harvest
- Sep–Nov
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −4 °C
- Water need
- High
Photo: Jamie Nettles · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Chinese cabbage forms elongated, tender-leaved heads that taste mild and juicy, suitable for raw salads, quick cooking, or fermentation. It is a classic autumn cabbage, when sown too early in high summer it may bolt into flower instead of forming a head.
Care instructions
Sow or plant only from July to early August so that the shortening days do not trigger bolting, and give it about a handbreadth more spacing. Keep the soil consistently moist and nutrient-rich, and harvest the firm heads in September before the first hard frosts, light frost is tolerated.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingJul–Aug
HarvestSep–Nov
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 3 to 7 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 1 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich, moist
Chinese cabbage wants deep, loose, humus-rich soil with good water-holding capacity but without waterlogging. A well-aerated loam is ideal. Keep the pH rather in the upper range, close to 7: lime in the soil clearly lowers the risk of clubroot.
Brassicas are heavy feeders and prone to clubroot. Allow a 4-year break and do not follow directly on from other crucifers such as radishes or mustard.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Jun–Sep
Work mature compost shallowly into the soil before planting; on light, sandy soils add horn shavings as well. During the main growth phase, top up the plants every few weeks with a little compost or horn shavings. Stop feeding about two weeks before harvest so that no nitrate builds up in the leaf.
Overwintering
Chinese cabbage is annual and does not survive winter in the bed in the lowlands of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Mature heads tolerate only light frost and turn mushy in prolonged frost, so harvest them before the first hard frost. Store tightly closed heads cool and dark in the cellar (they keep longest heeled into moist sand with the root ball), protect late plants in the bed with horticultural fleece and sow again from July.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Chinese cabbage is propagated exclusively by sowing. Since it is a long-day plant and tends to bolt (flowering without forming a head) with more than about 14 hours of daylight, in a home garden in Germany, Austria and Switzerland it is best sown directly outdoors from mid-July to early August, when the days are getting shorter again. A somewhat earlier sowing from early July is possible if you choose bolt-resistant varieties; sowing too early, as well as heat and drought stress, promotes bolting. Sow the seeds 1 to 2 cm deep in rows about 40 to 50 cm apart, 2 to 3 seeds to a spot, and thin later to 30 to 40 cm apart in the row. Germination works best at soil temperatures of 20 to 25 °C. About 60 to 80 days after sowing, that is, from October to November, you can harvest the firm heads. For an autumn harvest, direct sowing outdoors is the simplest and best-proven method; raising seedlings in pots and planting out after 3 to 4 weeks is also possible and protects young plants from slugs. Note on seed saving: Chinese cabbage is botanically biennial and only flowers after a cold stimulus in the second year; collect your own seed only from open-pollinated (not F1) varieties, and overwintering the seed plants is demanding. F1 hybrids segregate in the next generation and are not suitable for saving seed.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example Pole beanBroad beanSnow peaWrinkled peaRunner beanLima bean and 34 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
You can pair celery and dill with all Brassicaceae because they repel the cabbage whitefly with their scent, a proven companion.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: Bio-Gärtnerei Mixed-culture Practice
mint family (Lamiaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
nasturtium family (Tropaeolaceae)
Nasturtium serves as a trap plant for you. Aphids and cabbage whiteflies prefer it over the brassicaceae next to it.
For example NasturtiumMashua
Source: Trap plant practice in organic horticulture
Rather not
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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