Bok Choy

About it

Kind

Vegetables · Annual

Family

Brassicaceae

Sun

Full sun

Spacing

7 in apart

Soil depth in a pot

At least 20 in

Water

About every 7 days

ⓘ We don't know this plant's soil pH, feeding needs and mature size yet.

When to plant

For fall

Sow by 7 weeks before the first frost

Ready

About 60 days from planting out

Sow again

Every 14 days for a steady supply

Based on your last frost date. Outside the US, check local advice.

Planting partners

What has been claimed about growing Bok Choy near other plants, grouped by how well it has been tested. Most companion planting advice has never been tested; the notes say which is which.

Tested in field trials

• With Chinese Cabbage Napa cabbage grown as a trap crop beside other brassicas draws flea beetles away from them; in trials only a mix of three trap-crop species improved the protected broccoli's yield. UMN Extension ↗Europe PMC ↗
• With Mustard Greens Mustard grown as a trap crop beside other brassicas draws flea beetles away from them; in trials only a mix of three trap-crop species improved the protected broccoli's yield. UMN Extension ↗Europe PMC ↗

Mixed evidence

• With Green Onion Green onions are often planted to keep flea beetles off brassicas, but little research supports it and some contradicts it. UMN Extension ↗
• With Marigold Marigolds are often planted to keep flea beetles off brassicas, but little research supports it and some contradicts it. UMN Extension ↗

Safety for pets and children

• Cats No information in our sources
• Dogs No information in our sources
• Horses Listed as a problem for horses (NC State Extension)
• Children No information in our sources

If a pet or child eats part of this plant, call your vet or poison control.

Read from NC State Extension ↗.

"No information" means our sources do not say, not that the plant is harmless. A non-toxic listing is not a reason to let anyone eat a plant.

Pests and diseases

No pest or disease notes for Bok Choy yet.

Check the label and your local extension service before using any product.

Where this comes from

Source: NC State Extension ↗

• beginner friendly rhs.org.uk ↗ RHS (pak choi, the same crop): "quick and easy to grow" as a cut-and-come-again salad
• category NC State Extension ↗ Listed in Table 16-4, "Garden Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs"
• climate requirement NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox: "they can tolerate light frost". No zones: an annual has no winter to survive (see the header)
• days to maturity NC State Extension ↗ The Toolbox: "Plants will mature in about 60 days"; inside Table 16-4's T=30-75 and ch. 18's 45-60
• days to maturity NC State Extension ↗ The Toolbox: "Plants will mature in about 60 days"; inside Table 16-4's T=30-75 and ch. 18's 45-60
• fall sow weeks before first frost The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Almanac: "Count backward 50 days from your first frost and direct seed for fall harvests"; 50÷7 ≈ 7.1, rounded to 7
• family npgsweb.ars-grin.gov ↗ GRIN page: Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis (L.) Hanelt (the catalogue row is the Chinensis Group)
• indoor start weeks The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Almanac: spring, "start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost date"; top of the range
• life cycle NC State Extension ↗
• life cycle NC State Extension ↗
• maturity counted from NC State Extension ↗ Table 16-4 marks bok choy's entire T=30-75 range; the row's existing 60 days sits inside it (0069)
• min soil depth in NC State Extension ↗ Table 18-1: Bok choy, minimum container depth 20 in; the Toolbox gives the same "depth of 20 in". A group figure, as every ch. 18 depth is
• space requirement NC State Extension ↗ Table 16-4 distance between plants: 7-12 in; low end. The table publishes no row distance, so rows equal plants -- the square spacing of an intensive bed
• species NC State Extension ↗
• succession interval days max The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗
• succession interval days min The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Almanac: "Sow more every 2 weeks throughout spring and again in fall"
• sunlight NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
• toxicity NC State Extension ↗ toxic for horse from the page's "Problem for" listing.
• water frequency days NC State Extension ↗ NC State Gardener Handbook ch. 16, "Watering": "On average, vegetable gardens need 1 inch of water per week; provide only what is not supplied by rain." This is the handbook's general guidance for a vegetable garden, not a figure published for this crop.