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Brassica rapa chinensis. Pronounced "may-ching-choi." This hybrid Shanghai pac choi is tender, sweet, and crunchy. Short, compact plants are slow to bolt, but also cold-tolerant, for surprisingly long harvest periods. Mei Qing Choi pac choi seeds grow uniformly, with pale green petioles, and lovely, rounded, flat leaves. Perfect for early spring to late fall, and will overwinter with some protection. The secret to success with pac choi is to monitor your crop closely, because the plants can "bolt." This means that at a certain point in its growth season, the plant will send up a flower stock in order for pollination and seed production. This process is incredibly fast with pac choi plants, and can take only two days. Once the flowering process begins, the leaves lose much of their appealing taste and texture. It's best to sow numerous short rows of pac choi at two week intervals, so the whole crop does not mature all at once.
Matures in 40 days. (Hybrid seeds)
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Latin
Latin
Brassica rapa chinensis
Family: Brassicaceae
Difficulty
Difficulty
Easy
We Recommend
We Recommend: Mei Qing Choi (MU553). For growers particularly, this hybrid variety is surprisingly uniform in timing and growth. The plants are beautiful and upright with crisp stems and very good flavour. It works well in the home garden, but sow short rows repeatedly, or you’ll be overwhelmed by it all coming at once.
For Urban Gardeners: Toy Choi (MU522) works very well in containers and raised beds. It’s compact to the point of being cute, but tastes wonderful raw or cooked. Very nice, crunchy, succulent stems.
Season & Zone
Season & Zone
Season: Cool season
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Timing
Timing
All are cool season plants that grow quickly and then bolt. Direct sow with frost protection (a cloche or heavy row cover) as early as late winter, or without protection from four weeks before the last frost date to eight weeks after. Sowing short rows every 2-3 weeks allows for a fairly constant harvest time. Sow again in late summer, and provide frost protection as the first frost date approaches.
Starting
Starting
Sow 3-4 seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep in each spot you want a plant to grow. Thin to the strongest plant at a spacing of 15-20cm (6-6″) between plants in rows 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.
Days to maturity
Days to maturity: From direct sowing.
Growing
Growing
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8. 1 cup of complete organic fertilizer will provide sufficient nutrition to 3m (10′) of row. Choi Sum is harvested just before it flowers, so keep a close watch on each row. Pac Choi can be harvested at any stage, but if you want full-sized plants, watch for signs of bolting. Flower buds will appear at the centre of each plant, and a stem will form quickly as the plant turns from urn-shaped into a tall cone. Harvest as quickly as possible once flower buds are visible. Keep plants well-watered throughout their growth.
Harvest
Harvest
Use a sharp knife to cut the plants at ground level when they are ready to harvest. They will not grow back like some other crops, so plant several short rows every couple of weeks for a longer harvest.
Seed Info
Seed Info
In optimal conditions at least 70% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100′ row: 260 seeds, per acre: 114M seeds.
Diseases & Pests
Diseases & Pests
Slugs and woodlice (sow bugs) may nibble young seedlings. Keep the garden free from debris and excess water, where both of these pests like to go during the day. Protect plants from flea beetles and cabbage moths with lightweight row cover.
West Coast Seeds is a family-owned company that embraces an organic lifestyle. A group of imagination catalysts and passionate educators, dedicated to producing products and services that better the environment. As part of our mission to repair the earth, we aim to inspire and empower people to take responsibility for the state of the planet. For us, organic is about much more than saying no to chemicals, it is about saying yes to building a healthy soil for the future.
For over 35 years, we have upheld our strong reputation as a leading seed supplier, seeking out the highest quality untreated seeds for organic growing and putting them through rigorous independent testing. We built our company on the exchange of generational wisdom in a masterclass community of newbies and masters alike. Our world may have changed, but our commitment to our people, our customers, and our planet has not.
We’re a values-based business that has blossomed into a lifestyle ethos, with products that support seeders, feeders, keepers, and the tiniest of creepers. Our mission? To mobilize the next generation of gardeners with products that nourish soil and grow vigorous, sustainable gardens. We believe all plants should be grown without the use of chemicals, and that the seeds we supply are an important component of regenerative gardening.
We don’t just offer seeds, we offer experience, insight, and understanding. From timeless garden wisdom to new tech know-how, this is learning on the job: knowledge gleaned not from the pages of a book but from burying our fingers in the soil. We test, experiment, observe and adapt, never happier than when we get to share what we’ve learned with others.
Gardens don’t just grow seeds. They grow minds and imaginations, people and communities. Our vision encompasses both the micro and the macro. We eat locally, protect pollinators, teach people to grow from seed, and support regional biodiversity. We think big but act small and deliver unexpected impact — always with community and purpose.
At West Coast Seeds we believe in the power of small and that little can be large. Like the tiniest seed germinates to evoke incremental change with massive potential, so to can our community of gardeners and growers together. Gardeners are the earth’s stewards, planting seeds of creative declaration. The soil provides the canvas, we provide the seeds.
All are cool season plants that grow quickly and then bolt. Direct sow with frost protection (a cloche or heavy row cover) as early as late winter, or without protection from four weeks before the last frost date to eight weeks after. Sowing short rows every 2-3 weeks allows for a fairly constant harvest time. Sow again in late summer, and provide frost protection as the first frost date approaches.
Sow 3-4 seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep in each spot you want a plant to grow. Thin to the strongest plant at a spacing of 15-20cm (6-6″) between plants in rows 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8.
1 cup of complete organic fertilizer will provide sufficient nutrition to 3m (10′) of row. Choi Sum is harvested just before it flowers, so keep a close watch on each row. Pac Choi can be harvested at any stage, but if you want full-sized plants, watch for signs of bolting. Flower buds will appear at the centre of each plant, and a stem will form quickly as the plant turns from urn-shaped into a tall cone. Harvest as quickly as possible once flower buds are visible. Keep plants well-watered throughout their growth.
Days to maturity: From direct sowing.
In optimal conditions at least 70% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100′ row: 260 seeds, per acre: 114M seeds.
Use a sharp knife to cut the plants at ground level when they are ready to harvest. They will not grow back like some other crops, so plant several short rows every couple of weeks for a longer harvest.
