What is the difference between milk bok choy and baby napa cabbage? Growing techniques explained

Milk bok choy is one of the vegetables people commonly eat; under its green leaves grows a milky-white stalk, and it tastes crisp, somewhat resembling the appearance of baby bok choy, though it is a bit larger, and it is also rich in nutrients. So,is milk bok choy baby napa cabbage? What are the growing techniques?

I. Is milk bok choy baby napa cabbage?

Milk bok choy is not baby napa cabbage. Milk bok choy is a type of non-heading cabbage (common bok choy, baby bok choy, green bok choy, rapeseed greens) with a medium-short, plump plant type and broad, thick leaf stalks. It is a biennial or annual herbaceous plant of the genus Brassica in the family Brassicaceae, and it is cultivated more extensively in Guangdong. Its nutritional value is very high, and it has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, and promoting bowel movement. Baby napa cabbage, also called miniature napa cabbage, is a new vegetable variety introduced from Japan (some say Korea), and in recent years it has begun to gain favor domestically. Its appearance is consistent with that of napa cabbage, but its dimensions are only equivalent to one-fourth to one-fifth of napa cabbage, similar to a "simulated miniature version" of napa cabbage, which is probably why it is called baby napa cabbage.

II. What are the growing techniques for milk bok choy?

1. Planting time

For open-field cultivation in the Beijing area, milk bok choy can be grown from spring to autumn during the frost-free period, mainly for harvesting young plants. When spring temperatures are relatively low, it takes about 40 days to harvest; from summer to autumn, it can be harvested in 22 to 28 days. In cold seasons, it is cultivated under protective cover and can be produced year-round to supply the market.

2. Sowing and raising seedlings

For harvesting large plants of milk bok choy, the seedling-transplanting method is used; the seedling stage is 20 to 25 days, the planting spacing is 15×15 cm, and from planting to harvest is 30 days. Because the day-night temperature difference in the Beijing area is relatively large, it is quite suitable for the growth of milk bok choy, and the growing period is short, so direct sowing is mainly used, or after direct sowing, overcrowded seedlings are moved out to another location for planting. Drill sowing is better, with a row spacing of 12 to 15 cm for drill sowing, and a plant spacing of 10 to 15 cm when thinning to a stand. The sowing rate is 400 to 500 grams per mu.

3. Reasonable fertilization

The production cycle of milk bok choy is short, so it is advisable to apply more organic fertilizer as base fertilizer, and during the growing period, appropriately apply chemical fertilizer as top dressing, or combine sprinkler irrigation with foliar fertilizer top dressing. Top dressing is mainly quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. The method, timing, and amount of fertilization should be determined according to seedling condition, soil, weather, and other conditions; the principle is light fertilizer applied multiple times.

4. Cultivation and watering

In direct-sown fields of milk bok choy, it is advisable to use herbicides at sowing to eliminate weeds, and weeding at the seedling stage is combined with thinning. Watering is generally carried out together with top dressing. Transplanted seedlings must not lack water within 3 to 5 days after planting, and after planting in summer and early autumn, they need to be watered every morning and evening for 3 to 4 consecutive days.

5. Pest and disease control

Common diseases of milk bok choy include viral disease, downy mildew, and white spot disease, which can be controlled through comprehensive agricultural measures, such as avoiding continuous cropping or growing adjacent to other cruciferous vegetables, reasonable drainage and irrigation, and increasing the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to improve plant resistance; for chemical control, fungicides such as chlorothalonil can be sprayed. The main pests include cabbage aphid, stem borer, cabbage white butterfly, and striped flea beetle, which should be detected and controlled early; the control methods are the same as those for general cruciferous vegetables.