Growing Asian Greens

Nothing tastes as good as the vegies that you grow yourself. Even if you don't have much time to spend in the garden, you can still enjoy growing and eating quick-cropping Asian vegetables. Attached to the cover of the October edition of the Burke's Backyard magazine is the Burke's Backyard Mixed Asian Greens seed mix. The packet contains a combination of seeds of Chinese cabbage, kailan (Chinese broccoli), pak choi white (Chinese white cabbage), pak choi green (bok choy) and tatsoi (Chinese flat cabbage). The leaves and stems of these vegetables can be used in stir-frys, soups and salads. Kailan is also grown for its florets (flower buds), which are eaten like broccoli.

Growing from seed

Growing Asian vegies is simple and it's fun; even the kids will want to be involved! The seeds germinate quickly and can be sown in the garden or in a large pot. Don't sow all the seeds at once, instead, sow a selection every two to three weeks so you'll have a continuous supply of greens over the months ahead. To get started, just follow these easy steps:

1. Choose a position in full sun. Prepare your soil by digging over the ground with a spade to remove weeds, stones and hard clumps of earth. Dig in well-rotted manure or compost (available by the bag from your nursery). Add some complete fertiliser such as Dynamic Lifter or Gro Plus. Rake smooth. Water well.
2. Make shallow rows or planting drills about 3-5mm deep and 200mm apart (Don used an old garden stake to make the rows). Sow the seeds directly where you want the plants to grow. Don't worry about sowing too thickly, as extra plants can be thinned later. (Tip: to make sowing easier, mix the seeds with some fine sand, then just 'pour' the sand into the drills.)
3. Cover the seeds with a fine layer of seed raising mix and water gently. Put a label at the end of each row so you'll remember what you've planted. Keep the soil moist until the seeds begin to germinate (5-10 days).
4. To grow to a good size the plants need to be about 200mm apart, so remove extra plants. These can be replanted elsewhere or eaten. This is called 'thinning out'.
5. Water well and feed every fortnight with a liquid plant food such as Nitrosol (follow dilution rates on the container). Remove any weeds that appear. To reduce moisture loss and discourage weeds, place an organic mulch around your plants.
6. Harvesting can begin when the plants are around 150mm tall. Some seeds, such as kailan (Chinese broccoli), may be slower to reach a ready to eat stage. It's best to wait around 9 weeks by which time they should have developed florets.

Watch out!

Snails and slugs love Asian greens and they'll eat them at any stage. Protect young seedlings and growing plants with snail bait or a snail trap and check plants regularly, especially at night and after rain. (Warning: take care when using snail baits, as they are very toxic to pets - especially dogs - and native animals.) In hot weather plants may bolt to seed and the leaves will become bitter. If this occurs, wait until the weather cools before replanting.

Further information

A packet of the Burke's Backyard Mixed Asian Greens seed mix is attached to the cover of the October edition of the Burke's Backyard magazine. The magazine is available at newsagents for $4.80.

Copyright CTC Productions 2001