Ten years ago I would have advised to wait until Oct to plant the kailan. But now there are varieties that will grow year round in our climate. Senposai and other komatsuna hybrids (I have had very good luck with Kojisan (Evergreen seeds)) can be grown year round. Tah Tsai I have grown in the past, planted in late fall. Slow growing and I did not care for it that much.

Where are you in zone 10? That can make a difference.

Jim/San Diego

i planted some senposai a while back-fast, easy to grow,productive, likes a little more water in the heat but seems like it will tolerate much warmer weather than the cole crops you listed. In fact Evergreen describes it as 'resistant to heat'. The first leaves were a little more tender, has gotten more cabbagey as it gets older which might be age or might be the increased temps or might be my spotty watering habits. i have sliced it raw into a slaw but definitely prefer it cooked-either lightly stir-fried or wrapped up in a lumpia wrapper with some garlic, ginger, sesame, etc and deep fried.

Glad to hear you had good luck with the Kojisan Jim. i'm planning to sow some of that soon.

i grew a few Kailaan last winter. It was really vigorous in the cool weather, too vigorous really, for the space it occupied. It was about 2 or 3 feet tall and hadn't flowered yet when i harvested it. It was hard for me to see what to do with it so i just chopped it up and stir-fried it. Kinda weird. Maybe someone else has a better story.

Ania i was just searching for sweet potato leaf recipes when i came across this thread that talks about Senposai. i found it interesting, hope you will too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Other good stuff too

Thank you for the replies. Maybe I'll start the Senposai now and the Kailan in Aug/Sept.

I'm in Santa Clarita which is northern LA county. I'm right in between the city and the desert.

Ania

It was kind of fun going back and reading about my efforts to find senposai seed in 'o7 on that linked thread, Mauirose.

I did finally try it in 'o8. It was "good stuff" too! What I did that year was allow it to bolt and then use the flowering stalks. It went on and on - all season!

Now, keep in mind that I'm still gardening way up on 48 degrees North and not any zone 10 or 11. So, all season wasn't too long. (Maybe I should say, never long enuf. ;o)

This year, I again planted senposai and was looking forward to doing the same broccoli-like growing of it. DW got in the way!! She harvested the plants with some other spring greens - up by its roots!

Such are the trials and travails of a gardener like me. Well, it was good like that, too.

Steve

Just to add a little something:

Senposai was a much larger plant than the kailan I've grown. Kailan, by whatever spelling, hasn't done all that well for me and tastes much stronger than what I buy at the Asian markets during the winter.

Yu choy was new-to-me this year and made a much better choice for a kailan-like veggie. It is available in the Asian markets, also.

I'll be able to plant some of these veggies again for a fall harvest but it would sure have been nice to have the senposai to fill the gap thru the hot, dry season we are now moving into. Ah, well . . .

Steve

LOL Steve, your wife sounds a little bit like my huzb. Wish i could have seen your face!

Thanks for the tip about using the flowering stalks, now i am looking forward to the Senposai bolting. That Yu Choy looks like something i buy called Choi Sum-is the bolting Senposai like that?

And what did you think of the Red Choi? i put in a few this spring, they were OK, kinda open habit but great color.

i'm hoping to get out there this weekend for some more planting.

This is late, I know, but I don't often browse this forum...

Tah Tsai is a wonderful, easy-peasy green to grow, IMPE. Super delicious raw in salads & yummy in stir fries. Mine got HUGE & yielded tons of seeds when it finally bolted.