The amazing bok choi

As mentioned in the previous post, the veg garden, which is usually the scene of rather more activity, was pretty much left alone this winter.  Star of the show really has to be the bok choi; I had not realised just how much of this vegetable you can get from just one sowing.  The trick is to cut it off above the main growing point, about 5cm above the ground.  If you cut lower, it will grow multiple heads instead of one new head.  In this case it was sown in September, first cut five to six weeks later, then again in December.  To my amazement, despite being in a spot where it received barely a couple of hours direct sun at that time, it grew again in a few weeks.  A third cut in January was just as tasty as the first two.  Then, on a brief visit in February it was all flowering: lovely, tender, broccoli-like flower heads.  The stems have a rather fibrous skin, but once is removed, it is similar to stem lettuce or water chestnut.  So, four harvests from one lot of plants.

In this particular instance, I think the success is due to giving the plants a nitrogen-rich feed after each cut, repeated after heavy rains may have leached out the nitrogen.  The fertiliser in question involves zero carbon footprint, minimal effort and is sterile: human urine, diluted about 1:5 in a watering can.  Application about 1 litre (urine) per square metre.  I follow it with some plain water, but don't know if this is necessary.  I always made sure that the soil was already moist, as a potential disadvantage of urine is that it contains some salt.  It has to be less than 24 hours old, otherwise it acquires an unpeasant ammonia smell.  I never noticed any odour after using urine, either on plants or on the compost heap (it acts as a compost accelerator).

I must confess that the variety in question here is mei qing, which is an F1.  Another F1, joi choi, was far less successful and anyway less tasty (I think this one does better if it's really cold).  For this year I have a couple of open-pollinated varieties to try, bought from the Real Seed Company.  If you're curious about what to do with bok choi in the kitchen, I'll be posting some recipes on the companion blog over the next day or so.