Cabbage ‘Red Choi’ harvest week

Last week was komatsuna harvest week and we finished harvesting them. So this week is cabbage ‘Red Choi’ harvest week. Red choi is an F1 hybrid which seeds I bought from Green Harvest this year. I usually don’t buy hybrid seeds because it is not suitable for seed saving. But I was curious when I read this line ~deep green leaves with maroon veins develop into striking maroon leaves with light green undersides. Here are some information from the seed packet:

Plant type: Annual cool season crop, frost tolerant (planning to try in autumn next year)

Plant height: 30cm

Sow when: Germination best at 15-24 degree Celcius (good germination in Adelaide spring almost 100%)

Germination: 7days (I agree)

Harvest: 45 days, begin harvest when plants are 20cm tall

Red choi seedlings a few days old. We can differentiate them with other similar pak choi family with the leaves tinge with maroon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first true leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More leaves development and its time to transplant them. We transplanted the ‘red choi’ seedlings onto the cineraria border patch, inter-planting with other plants as quick crop. This patch is part shade~shade area depending on whether it is sunny or cloudy day. On a sunny day, it will received some sunlight maximum 2 hours in spring. So yes you can grow ‘red choi’ in part shade area for anyone who does not have much sunny area to grow vegetables.

A close up look of ‘red choi’ about 5cm tall.

More growth.

Its time to harvest ‘red choi’ this week as you can see the leaves has less maroonish colour on it as it matures and caterpillars has munched them. So I have better harvest them quick:). I have already see signed some of them will be producing flower soon.

Subsistance pattern blog have many interesting type of harvested cabbage and on how to store them.

Propagation:

(1) Bush bean ~ Redland pioneer (Eden seeds)

(2) Salad greens kang kong (Eden seeds)

(3) Turkish Leopard Melon (Alice spring seedsavers)

Transplanting:

(1) Okra burgundy

(2) Rockmelon