Asian Greens

Today's chore is succession cropping again. Since I picked so many Asian greens recently, I had plenty of space to put my seedlings in. I planted two Chinese cabbage... err yes more Chinese cabbage. Optimism reigns supreme here in the dandelion patch. I might be able to defend the cabbage. I'm thinking rolled up newspapers as decoys for the earwigs this time. Then I can always throw the newspapers in a bucket of water and drown the little suckers. As an added bonus I can throw their dead bodies on the compost pile with the newspapers. Pay no attention to the wild look in my eye.

Hmm where was I. Oh yeah, what I planted. In addition to the Chinese cabbage, I planted one of each of the following: giant red mustard, Fun Jen, mizuna, tatsoi, and two boc choi. The boc choi seedlings don't look all that good. They got too close to the fluorescent light during their youth and got burned. I may have to pull them up if they don't recover. I remembered to give the Chinese cabbage space this time. They can easily take up four square feet of space. These get huge. So I planted them toward the edge. One I put in between some tatsoi and Fun Jen, but they will be pulled within a couple of weeks so should be fine. I actually think the foot spacing I'm giving the rest of the Asian greens is too large. They are all small plants 9" would be fine. I'll have to remember for next year.

The one thing the bed is missing is more compost. I've used all my finished compost up, so am out. With the constant planting of this bed (it turns over about every 40-45 days, except for the Chinese cabbage and mizuna), the nutrients are really getting sucked from the soil, and the crops are all the same ones, so not any rotation, which means I really need to feed them more. I put about a tablespoon of balanced organic fertilizer in each hole along with the same of worm castings. I'm hoping it is enough to keep them growing for their lifetime.

Though I put another mizuna plant in, I'm not sure I need it. The old plants are still growing like crazy. Not a flower is in sight. I'm really shocked. I've never grown it before, but figured it would want to bolt like all my other Asian greens. The plant is a purple mizuna and it is absolutely lovely. The stems and edges of the leaves are purple. When the leaves get old, they also turn purple. Though I don't eat them as a meal to themselves, they get put in every salad I eat. They taste wonderful. Nothing eats the plant (well except me of course). Even the slugs leave it alone. It is my little workhorse that I can always count on. I'm definitely growing this every year.