Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra
Chinese broccoli
Common names: Chinese kale, Kai-lan, Gai lan
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 25 cm, rows 35 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Apr–Aug
- Harvest
- Jun–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −3 °C
- Water need
- High
Photo: Kowloonese · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Chinese broccoli, botanically Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, is known in Asia as kai-lan and is widely grown especially in southern China. It is a close relative of broccoli and kale, but grows more slender and faster. The blue-green, waxy-shining leaves sit on sturdy stems that reach 30 to 50 cm in height and usually bear white flowers. The young shoots are harvested, including stem, leaves and the first buds. The flavor is robust, slightly bitter and at the same time sweetish, somewhat like broccoli with a note of kale. It is best prepared briefly steamed or stir-fried in a wok with garlic. After cutting, side shoots regrow, so it can be harvested several times. In the garden it is a good addition to beds and raised beds, as it is ready to harvest after about 8 to 10 weeks.
Care instructions
Pre-cultivate Chinese broccoli in pots on a bright windowsill from mid-April, or sow it directly into the bed from May to early August about 1 cm deep, with 25 cm spacing within the row. It tolerates warmth better than other cabbage types and needs a sunny spot with nutrient-rich, evenly fresh soil. Water regularly, as drought makes the stems woody and bitter. A fine-mesh crop protection net is important right after sowing, as it keeps out cabbage whites, cabbage root flies and flea beetles. The plant is ready to harvest when the first flowers open: cut the main shoot about 15 cm long, after which side shoots form, which you also harvest. If you wait too long, the stems become tough. For summer sowings, a spot with afternoon shade is better. Observe crop rotation so that clubroot does not become established.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–Aug
HarvestJun–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 4 to 10 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
humus-rich, loamy, nutrient-rich, lime-loving
Chinese broccoli needs nutrient-rich, humus-rich, evenly fresh soil that neither dries out nor stays waterlogged. Loamy soils are ideal; on light sandy soil, mix in plenty of compost. The pH should be in the neutral range, because lime slows clubroot. Loosen the bed deeply before sowing so that the roots can grow unhindered.
Chinese broccoli is a brassica and shares clubroot, cabbage root fly and flea beetles with all other brassicas, and with radish, mustard and rocket. Allow at least four years' break on the same bed, because the resting spores of clubroot survive for many years in the soil.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Apr–Aug
Chinese broccoli grows vigorously in a few weeks and so needs quickly available nutrients. Work in mature compost before sowing, and on lean soils horn shavings as well. After three to four weeks, give another thin layer of compost or diluted nettle feed. Too much nitrogen makes the stems soft and attracts aphids.
Overwintering
Chinese broccoli is annual and tolerates only light frost down to about minus 3 °C. Harvest all remaining shoots before the first harder frosts, in October at the latest. The remains go on the compost, but plants with knobbly root swellings you dispose of in the household waste, because otherwise clubroot spreads in the garden. Store seed dry and dark.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate Chinese broccoli from seed. It germinates in a few days at 20 to 25 °C, but stays sluggish below 15 °C. So from mid-April you start it in pots on the windowsill, and sow directly in the bed, about 1 cm deep, only from May to early August. Thin the seedlings to 25 cm apart; plant out raised plants when they have three to four leaves. For seed, let a few plants flower; the pods ripen in late summer. Brassicas cross easily, so seed you collect yourself comes true only if no other brassica is flowering nearby.
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 PeaBush beanPole beanBroad beanSnow peaWrinkled pea and 36 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
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Chinese broccoli yourself
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