Pak Choi Choice ?

I'd like to grow Pak Choi this year in a container . Reading up on it , it seems when , how and the type to plant is critical , as it is 12 hour daylight dependent . Also it is prone to bolt . So it seems to be a tricky little devil to grow ! The other veggie forums are full of tales of woe
Can anyone recommend a good reliable and bolt resistant type to sow ? Also how and when to plant ( late April , direct ? )
Previous thread on here mentions Mei Quing Choi ?

TIA

 

Past few years i've sown Hanakan F1 & a colour & crunch F1 mix, despite making sure they've not gone short of water, they still bolted

Maybe I should have waited till after the equinox to sow them. I sowed direct as root disturbance can make things bolt too.

 

I grew some once. It all germinated fine and started to grow, then the mobile bogies ate the lot.

 

Well you two don't inspire much confidence !
I may have a rethink if Pak Choi are too much faff

 

Aah, but even though we fail, we still keep trying

 

I don't sow before then (well, I might, can't exactly remember, but late enough that by the time they are up the Equinox is behind us)

For earlier crops best to treat as cut-and-come-again. For later water little-and-often, rather than less-often-and-heavily, as they are shallow rooted and the oft-recommended soak-less-often doesn't work for them. Mulch will help in that regard, and pay more attention to watering as they get closer to maturity.

 

On Gardeners Question Time a couple of weeks ago - someone said he had been trying to grow carrots without success . The panel asked how long have you been trying ? Thirty years he said ! Now that is trying !

 

I had reasonable luck with pak-choi at the end of last year in the space previously used by my broad beans - I got two reasonable crops before the weather gave up completely, not huge but enough to make me try again this year ; deffo one for the end of the year when the soil is nice & warm & hopefully theres a decent amount of not too hot sun. I just have the generic geen / white pak-choi from Premier seeds direct.

 

i use wilkinsons pak choi i dont have a problem with them bolting i grow them the same way as iceburg lettuce, they only bolt if i leave them growing for to long, the chinese ( well my ex husband) pick them when they are fairly small for better taste hope this helps

 

Thanks All
I may try Wilkos seeds then . I'll plant them in August ?

 

i plant every four weeks from april onwards , slugs and snails like them though so check em for them but i am in west wales

 

Cheers Kaz , I'll get a packet of Wilkos Pak Choi on my next visit They do one at 60pence and one called Shanghai at £1.25 , any preference ?

 

shanghai tends to be the smaller and more tender try both and see how you get on with each

 

Will do Kaz , thanks for the advice

 

you are most welcome