#24. Growing Oriental Vegetables
You may be someone who enjoys eating oriental vegetables, and if you are, keep reading to find out how you can easily grow your own. Oriental vegetables are best picked in spring, autumn and winter. You can prepare to harvest your regular vegetables in summer, so that you have time for a bit of the Orient as well.
There is a wide range of oriental vegetables you can choose from as the list of seeds available is constantly growing. Check online for what's available and you will find entire sections devoted to them. If space is a problem in your garden, you can always choose to grow them in containers.
Here are a few suggestions about what vegetables you can grow and some tips on how to grow them.
Pak choi: is a fast growing, attractive plant. This crisp Chinese vegetable is related to the Chinese cabbage and has similar cultivation requirements. Pak Choi can be used in stir fries, salads or steamed. The plants do not require too much water because the roots are shallow. The seed packet will provide you with instructions for sowing. You can put the seeds in a container, raised bed or in-ground garden. For container growing you need to use multi-purpose compost. The seeds need to go about one inch deep into the ground. Cover with compost and water well. Avoid watering till the seeds start sprouting and then water regularly so that the soil does not dry out. You need to sow the seeds between July to September. Harvesting is generally done from September to December.
Chinese cabbage: this vegetable is also known as peking cabbage, shantung cabbage, celery cabbage, and in the U.S. it is referred to as napa cabbage. The flavor of the cabbage is sweet and delicate. The cabbage is a densely backed cylindrical shape of tender leaves. Sow seeds directly into your garden or in containers in spring or late summer. If you sow them in containers, transplant the seedlings approximately 4 to 6 weeks later. These plants will require plenty of water so make sure they don't dry out.
Mustard greens: there are several varieties to choose from depending on how strong a mustard flavor you like. Some varieties have spicy hot leaves while others have a milder flavor. Planting the seeds is very simple, prepare the ground and make a furrow of about one inch in depth, put in the seeds, spreading out thinly. Now cover them and water well.