Asian Vegetables

[digitS']

@jbosmith ,

Your Asian vegetable gardening sounds a lot like ..

. my own . Probably not all that much difference in climate, either.

Steve

 

[AMKuska]

They don't do especially well in the summer in northern New England but, if you plant them on August 1 they'll sprout, put on some decent leaf growth, and then grow their big roots once it gets chilly in the fall. I have very few bug problems with fall-grown brassicas, though there are a few more snails.

Ah! I'll try planting them in August then. I have solutions for snails so that won't be troublesome.

 

[Phaedra]

I admittedly haven't read this whole thread, so apologies if this is all redundant.

My favorite place to browse asian greens is Kitazawa. They were recently purchased by True Leaf Market and I hope they treat the brand well. https://kitazawaseed.com/

I love Yu Choy Sum from the local vietnamese market, and I'm fairly sure it's just rapeseed greens. They tell me it means 'Yellow flower vegetable'. I'm no good at growing them except for at the very end of summer. Flea beetles kill them early on unless I put them under reemay and the heat makes them bolt during the summer.

Yu Choy Sum (油菜心) is a dark green vegetable. Different from eating the tender leaves majorly, the flavor is majorly on the much thicker stem. That's why here, "心" is used to indicate the heart/core of the stem. More often, we only called it Choy Sum, and the reason why a "Yu/油/oil" is added - the seeds of this vegetable and its other relatives (Brassica napus) are very rich in oil.

As for "yellow flowers," - a lot of vegetables in the Brassica family have yellow flowers, so forget about their explanations.

Flea beetles will kill almost all Brassica family vegetables. I only sow them undercover in Feb/early March and transplant them in the second half of March or April. Their growing period is short, 4-7 weeks (depending on the weather) are enough, and they can stand a bit frost. The other growing window will be sowing them undercover in August and transplanting them when most flea beetles are gone. When the weather condition is suitable, you can expect at least two harvests in a year.

Of course, if a proper succession sowing is planned, the overall harvest can be prolonged.

 

[meadow]

My favorite place to browse asian greens is Kitazawa. They were recently purchased by True Leaf Market and I hope they treat the brand well. https://kitazawaseed.com/

I highly recommend grabbing/downloading a copy of their seed catalog while you can. The descriptions are so much better than what is on the current website.

 

[meadow]

Any tips for a good daikon? This is one of my favorite vegetables, but I have a problem with bugs eating the root

5-gallon bucket? I grew some one year in an oak whiskey barrel planter.

 

[digitS']

Yes, Kitazawa is going through some changes. I hope that the offerings won't change/be lost.

Years ago, I bought seed from an outfit specializing in Asian varieties in Oregon that went out of business a short time later. A seed rack had been set up in a local Asian market but I also ordered online.

I believe that is where I came to have a vegetable that I grow every year from saved seed. (Wish that I had a picture to show you.) Quite new to Asian vegetables, I guess that it is choy sum. However, that guess may be only based on how we use it. We wait until it bolts and maybe even after a few yellow flowers open.

I've grown several varieties of choy sum from seed companies later and they are the tiniest vegetables in my garden. Micro greens? They bolt after growing only a couple of inches. It may be the climate but I don't want plants with such limited growth in the open garden ... although, I suppose that I could save a ton of seed one year and sow it densely and harvest from that ...

What I have will grow to about the size of Southern Mustard. Much better flavor IMO and, as I say, very suitable for harvesting as it flowers. It even taught us that we could do this with bok choy. Not especially attractive but mild and tasty - much taller than the 3 or so choy sum varieties from the seed catalogs, despite my efforts to select larger choices.

BTW, saving seed from these annual brassicas is easy. Their quick maturity and seed development means a summer harvest. Dry, warm weather - convenient pods. If you have something OP that you like, give it a try.

Steve

 

[meadow]

We've been enjoying some 'accidentally overwintered' Asian mustards that seeded themselves.

 

[AMKuska]

@digitS' I got some Komatsuna as a free seed in one of my orders. How does it taste??

 

[digitS']

As far as my tastes go, @AMKuska , you are in for a treat .

Stay with it through the season and harvest the tender leaves. If you miss the opportune time, take the mature leaf off. Chinese cabbage without the crunch although it holds up better when cooked. Also, turnip greens without the bitterness.

It might be fun for you to grow Senposai with your Komatsuna. @jbosmith and I have done that although I'm thinking that I just did that once. They are relatives and I was doing an either/or for several years.

Simply do a quick stir-fry to stay ahead of your plants. I imagine that they will grow well in your garden.

Steve

 

[Marie2020]

I clicked like but never heard of any of these vegetables.

I would like to get hold if a barrel to grow, they are brilliant but ultra expensive here to buy