Tatsoi is a traditional, delicious, tender vegetable, which when fully grown has a compact, dense leaf rosette with spoon-shaped leaves. Harvest the young leaves after about 21 days and use it as a salad. The full-grown head can be harvested after 45 days.
Chinese cabbage is very healthy and versatile. It can be boiled, steamed, blanched, stir-fried, used in casseroles, added to soups, and finely chopped and used raw in salads and raw vegetables. It contains the vitamins: A, B2, B5, B6, B11, C and K. And the minerals: calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, manganese, magnesium, selenium and zinc. There are also many phytonutrients and few calories in this cabbage. Chinese cabbage is very tasty in combination with: rice, soy sauce, chicken, minced meat, beef, pork, butter, nutmeg, pepper, milk, ginger, cayenne pepper, cashew nuts, noodles, noodles, bacon, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, cod, cheese and curry powder. And with other vegetables such as: leeks, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, shallots, carrots, shiitakes, sugar snaps and French beans. Chinese cabbage can be kept for a long time. Both in and outside the refrigerator, a whole cabbage can be kept for 2 weeks. After blanching for a short time, the cabbage can also be frozen for months (6). Semi-winter hardy annual.
Indoor sowing: March - July
Outdoor sowing: May - August
Germination: 5 -14 days
Germination temperature: 15 - 18 °C
Sowing depth: superficial - 8 mm
Planting distance: 15 cm
Plant position: sunny
Days till harvest: 21 -45
Sow indoors from March to July in trays with fine seedbed soil. Sow a small quantity at a time. Sow thinly and cover the seeds with a thin layer of seed soil. Press lightly and keep moist. As soon as the first leaves appear, prick out the young seedlings into separate pots. In May, as soon as there is no chance of night frost, the young seedlings can be planted outside. Leave 30 cm space. Keep well moist and weed free. Tatsoi needs a sunny spot and protection from snails.
Sow from mid May till mid August outside in open ground. Sow small amounts every 3 - 4 weeks for a longer harvest period. Use well loosened, fine soil and sow about 8-10 mm deep. Cover the seeds with a very thin layer of seed ground. Sow in rows 15 cm apart. Keep the soil moist and weed-free. Keep it moist especially during germination.
Thin out the plants gradually so that there is 30 cm space per plant. Eat the thinned leaves as a salad. The heads can be harvested later and used as a stir-fry vegetable or cut small as a leaf vegetable. Tatsoi needs a sunny spot and protection from snails.