Do you like a nice bung-everything-in-the-pan stir fry? Or perhaps you love your greens but would like to freshen up your crop choice?
The answer is probably in having a go at growing some tasty Oriental veg, tucked into your veg patch.
Seed is readily available from all garden centres and online seed companies, as the demand for these Asian staples has increased. As with growing many greens, there is a trial and error element – depending on weather conditions and environment, some can bolt before you know it, setting seed and being useless for harvesting fresh greens.
But breeding these days has meant lots of varieties benefit from slow-bolting traits, so it’s always worth a go. As with all plants, persisting means you’ll find a rhythm with growing these greens, and know what works and doesn’t to produce the best crop.
GN recommends – four to try
1) Chinese cabbage
Large, dense packs of leaves in a tasty cabbage that is slow to bolt. Harvest from late summer until late autumn.
2) Pak choi ‘Red Choi’
Instead of the usual fresh green leaves, this variety has burgundy leaves, which get darker as it ages. Harvest from late summer.
3) Mizuna
A nice fresh, salad leaf with a sweet, mustard taste. Can be ready in as little as three weeks.
4) Mooli
Quick to grow, colourful, mild radish-like root veg. Can come in white, green or pink. Harvest from late summer into autumn.