Caring For Chinese Cabbage - How To Grow Chinese Cabbage


What is Chinese cabbage? Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) is an oriental vegetable that is used a lot in sandwiches and salads instead of lettuce. The leaves are tender like lettuce even though it is a cabbage. Unlike regular cabbage, the thick veins in the leaves are actually sweet and tender. Growing Chinese cabbage is a great addition to any vegetable garden.
How to Grow Chinese Cabbage
When considering planting Chinese cabbage, you have to remember that you can grow an early winter or mid-winter crop or a spring crop. Just don't plant your cabbage too late or it will send up flower stalks before making heads, which robs the plant of nutrients.
One of the steps to grow Chinese cabbage is to prepare the soil. Planting Chinese cabbage requires heavy soil that holds moisture. You do not want the soil too wet, however, because it can rot the plant. To keep your Chinese cabbage growing well during the season, you should fertilize the soil before planting. Also, make sure plants get enough water, but not too much, throughout the season.
Planting Chinese cabbage can be done in late summer to fall (August through October) for an early winter or mid-winter crop, or in winter (January) for a spring crop. It all depends on when you want your cabbage to be harvested. When you plant in winter, you want your growing Chinese cabbage where it is protected from cold, ice and frost as it matures.
Growing Chinese cabbage is done best when the plants are 10 inches (25 cm.) apart. This gives smaller heads which are great for home use. Also, you want two- to three-pound heads, so plant them in double rows to keep the size of the heads smaller.
If you plant from seed, be sure to put the seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch (.6 to 1.2 cm.) deep and 3 inches (7.6 cm.) apart. When the growing Chinese cabbage is 4 to 5 inches (10-13 cm.) tall, you can thin the plants to about 10 inches (25 cm.) apart.
Harvesting Chinese Cabbage Plants
When you harvest the cabbage, be sure to pick Chinese cabbage growing from the first planting you started, if you have staggered plantings for continuous crops.
Take the heads and clean them of browning or bug damaged leaves on the outside and wrap them in plastic firmly so they keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Chinese cabbage is a great vegetable to include in all your salads.
Gardening tips, videos, info and more delivered right to your inbox!
Sign up for the Gardening Know How newsletter today and receive a free download of our most popular eBook "How to Grow Delicious Tomatoes."

Kathee Mierzejewski was with Gardening Know How in the very beginning, writing many of the site's foundational articles.
-
Pantone’s Color Of The Year 2024 Is A Gardener’s Dream – Discover 7 Flowers That Are ‘Peach Fuzz’ Perfection
The global authority on color has spoken, and 'Peach Fuzz' is the shade we'll all be seeking out in the coming year. Find out why this gorgeous pinky orange deserves a place in your garden, and be inspired by our top flower picks
By Melanie Griffiths Published
-
15 Garden Trends To Avoid in 2024: Experts Warn Against These Outdated Designs
Garden trends come and go. We asked gardening experts to share the outdated trends that should be retired – and what you can do instead.
By Melanie Griffiths Last updated