Pak Choy, the fourth update.

Pak Choy or Sawi Putih

deep container in the dry yard

pak choy 
in deep container

close-up of pak choy in deep container

shallow container alongside the house

pak choy 
in shallow container

close-up of pak choy 
in shallow container

an older batch of pak choy,
ready to be taken anytime

1st posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy stage by stage.
2nd posting on pak choy serial: Pak Choy adding more leaves
3rd posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy third update 

4th posting on pak choy serial:
 

Week 1 ~ first pair of leaves

Week 2 ~ second pair of leaves

Week 3 ~ on average, 6 leaves. the leaves are increasing in size

Week 4 ~ the plants concentrate on increasing the size, new shoots are slow now.

pak choy in deep container.
This container is well outside our garden. In fact it is in the dry yard where kakdah normally hangs the cloths. The area is enclosed with brickwall, about 5' 6" high with two swing doors at both ends. The floor is tiled orange. She can get to the area through the kitchen's door. Pests in the form of grasshoppers seldom get to the area. Therefore, dry yard is well away from pest. The plants are totally free from pest bites.  Since the pot is at the edge of roof line, sunlight is fairly reduced and we would expect plants to be a little bit lanky.
pak choy in shallow container
This container is placed alongside the house, within the canopy of the roof. Lawn is 5 feet away. There will be pests straying to the pot once in a while. Grasshoppers seem to like pak choy very much. The biting habit is evident, but still tolerable. Pak choy grow better at this location, because of ample sunlight.

bangchik

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Pak Choy third update

pak choy in deep container

close-up of pak choy in deep container

pak choy in shallow container

close-up of pak choy in shallow container

1st posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy stage by stage.
2nd posting on pak choy serial: Pak Choy adding more leaves
3rd posting on pak choy serial: 
 

Week 1 ~ first pair of leaves

Week 2 ~ second pair of leaves

Week 3 ~ on average, 6 leaves. the leaves are increasing in size

I wasn't following closely on the growth of Pak Choy with previous attempts. After a while, things tend to be a little bit routine; water twice daily, put fertiliser, check for pests, until come a day when one decides to pull them out for dinner or something. Surprisingly doing serial on Pak Choy somehow quickens the waiting game. On the third post, I realise they really grow....

I think from now onwards, Pak Choy will not be aggressive to add more leaves. The plant will simply channel all energy and nutrient to let the leaves grow bigger. Of course to do that they need water and nutrients. Some readers are asking if Bak Choi is the same as Pak Choy. Yes, the plant goes by many names, including our local name sawi putih or lobak sawi....

So far the plants are growing happily without major disturbance from pest. A leaf was torn on one of the plants in the deep pot. Who did it?.... it doesn't look like grasshopper job...probably my own or kakdah fingers did that while babysitting the little plants.

A little bit about Cut and Come Again technique. 

Growing vegetables which can be harvested more than once is like winning the fresh vegetable lottery. Cut and come again vegetables are those which can be harvested at seedling, semi-mature and mature stages of growth. They can be sown directly in the garden plot in rows or used as under plantings for larger vegetables. Many may also be planted in containers. Most vegetables which fall under the heading of cut and come again are leafy greens. However, vegetables like squash and cucumbers can also be considered cut and come again. If these are harvested regularly, they continue to provide fruit over a very long period. (click:How to Harvest the Same Vegetable Multiple Times: Growing Cut and ...)

Cheers, happy gardening

~bangchik and kakdah

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Pak Choy 5th update ~ almost there

pak choy 
or 
sawi putih

pak choy in deep container

pak choy in deep container

pak choy in shallow container

1st posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy stage by stage.
2nd posting on pak choy serial: Pak Choy adding more leaves
3rd posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy third update 

4th posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy, the fourth update.

5th posting on pak choy serial: 

Week 1 ~ first pair of leaves

Week 2 ~ second pair of leaves

Week 3 ~ on average, 6 leaves. the leaves are increasing in size

Week 4 ~ the plants concentrate on increasing the size, new shoots are slow now. 

Week 5 ~ ready to be harvested

It doesn't take long for pak choy to grow and become big, and ends up for a lovely stir fried menu. Looking at pak choy in both pots, we can safely conclude that the amount of sunlight matters much to the growth. The shallow container which is placed at a sunnier place, performs so well.

We are going to harvest them soon,
using the Cut and Come Again technique .

bangchik

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Pak Choy adding more leaves

pak choy in deep container.

pak choy in shallow container

close-up of baby pak choy

earlier batch of pak choy

1st posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy stage by stage.

Week 1 ~ first pair of leaves

Week 2 ~ second pair of leaves

The variety I am growing now is the white stemmed Pak Choy. The other is green stemmed, which I have grown before but give it a rest for the moment.  I notice the resilience of white stemmed pak choy seeds. The old seeds, the leftover seem to sprout easily. But the success rate of germinating green stemmed pak choy is  much lower now with older seeds.

The plants had let out the second pair of leaves after about a week being transplanted.  Every single seedlings continue growing, some at a faster rate. The roots are fibrous and shallow, therefore water does not have to deep. To give them a little bit of cooler environment, peat soil is spread in thin layer on top. Peat soil has the ability to absorb and retain water. Nutrients are released slowly to the soil below as peat soil slowly decompose.

The earlier batch of pak choy is growing and about to be pulled out. I read somewhere about a technique called Cut and Come Again. I am going to give it a try but not with this batch...

bangchik

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