PlantFiles: Bok Choy, Pak Choi, Celery Mustard, Chinese Chard, Chinese Cabbage
Brassica rapa var. chinensis 'Joi Choi'

This is a hybrid version of Lei-Choi. The average height of the plant is about 18 inches. Plants grow vigorously and uniformly, good for commercial crops. Very productive. Best for growing in fall/winter seasons.

I picked my first small Bok Choy yesterday, and after stir frying with with onions, bellpepper, Thai basil from the garden, and some chrystallized ginger, I made a delicious soup with ramen noodles and a small can of clams, with their juice, and some packets of duck sauce and soy sauce brought home from a Chinese restaurant a few days ago.

I've cooked Bok Choy from the grocery store for years for soups and stir fry, but it simply tastes better when cooked fresh from the garden. This smaller one is a quick grower--the plants were quite small when I bought them in a 9 pack from a garden center, and I got over a dozen plants that quickly grew in part sun, with almost daily watering, and a few rounds of 10-10-10. I plan on going fully organic when I get chickens, but that's not going to be for awhile, so I have to use fertilizer here in our sandy, fast draining soil in Northcentral Florida.

This variety has a very good flavor when picked young, and the stalks don't turn to mush when cooked--they are tender, but still have some substance in the mouth.

A smaller more compact Bok Choi -very good, more tender ,and easy to grow -tolerates heat and cold-better then most varieties.