When do you plant bok choy for Fall in your area?

15 years ago

I had trouble with bok choy bolting over the spring even under mild conditions--the weather started out cool and gradually warmed--nothing at all dramatic. From the reading I did here and elsewhere, the conclusion I remember is that bok choy is much easier as a fall than a spring crop. Presumably changes in day length and not just temperature are factors. In the absence of chasing down a bolt resistant strain (how useful are those?), I decided I would just plant in the fall. I have the standard full size bok choy from Kitazawa seeds.

I'm curious about when to plant seeds. I'm in the San Franicisco Bay Area. I'm hoping to find times when the plants will both grow at a reasonable rate and not go to seed.

However, since my experience would be meaningless to someone in Houston, and both of ours is not terribly relevant to someone in Minnesota, I was curious if people could give what part of the country they live in and when they have successfully (or unsuccessfully) planted bok choy in the fall.

Comments (3)

shebear
15 years ago
I found this on a site......does it help you figure out when in your area? I think the photoperiod info is the most useful.

Climatic requirements. Average temperatures of 55Â°-70Â° F (13-21Â° C) are favorable. Temperatures above 75Â° F (24Â° C) may cause some burning of the tips and prolonged temperatures below 55Â° F (13Â° C) can cause premature bolting. Bok choy is also very sensitive to photoperiods for flowering. Long days (16 hour days for a month) induce flowering in some cultivars. Short days and warm temperatures keep the plant in the vegetative phase.

I'll give you some info about what happened with mine this year. First of all I planted a baby bok choy because somewhere I found info that it took heat better. Next we had a strange spring and I didn't get it into the ground until late April......that means the days are pretty long and warm here. It grew fast and didn't bolt....I think it's because it never got under 55 degrees the whole time and it got confused about not having a cool period.

Sorry I haven't really given you any local info but it might help you figure out how it gets the signal to bolt.

Good luck.....I'll be trying some this fall so maybe next year we can trade results.
albionwood
15 years ago
I'm three hours north of SF, on the Mendo coast. I've had very good success starting bok choy in September, set out in early October. They size up just as the weather turns cool and then stand there until the wind knocks them over in January, or I eat them, whichever happens first.

Michilhi-type Chinese cabbage on the same schedule does even better - it will actually continue to grow all winter long.
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jimster
15 years ago
I have found that variety does make a difference in bolt resistance of various crops, despite my initial skepticism. The problem is finding the truly bolt resistant varieties, because the claims for bolt resistance of many varieties are exaggerated. The lettuce Nevada, for instance, actually will hold in the garden for several weeks without bolting, unlike many supposedly bolt resistant lettuces.

This year, a spring planting of Mei Qing Choi, a Shanghai type bok choy, performed very well here on Cape Cod. It was flavorful, held well in the garden without bolting and was good at various stages of growth. Toy Choy, a really tiny baby bok choy, was very good as a fall crop last year.

Jim