Can bok choy be grown on a balcony? A detailed guide to growing it at home

A small balcony planted with vegetables, green and pesticide-free, can make the balcony fresher and more beautiful, make the family dining table richer, and let you experience the simple joy of planting and harvesting. When elderly people grow some vegetables, they get exercise and do not feel they have nothing to do. So can a home balcony grow bok choy? What growing methods are there?

1. Can a home balcony grow bok choy?

A home balcony can indeed grow bok choy. Bok choy has the advantages of a short growth cycle and being less prone to pests, so it is a suitable choice for balcony vegetable growing.

2. Balcony bok choy growing methods

Generally, what we call bok choy includes two types: one is baby bok choy, and the other is napa cabbage. First, we need to prepare suitable soil; the soil should have good looseness and air permeability. This kind of soil can be taken from the field, then mixed with a certain amount of fertilizer. After preparing the soil, we choose a shallower flower pot or foam box and put the soil into it.

1. Digging the furrows

First water thoroughly to the bottom, level the soil surface, and open small furrows about 1.5cm deep and 1-1.5cm wide, with about 15cm between furrows.

2. Sowing seeds

Place 2-3 seeds every 3-4cm.

3. Covering with soil

Bok choy seeds are small and weak at pushing through the soil, so cover them with a thin, loose layer of soil, and ensure sufficient light and moisture before germination.

Bok choy seeds generally break through the soil and sprout in about 6 days. When the young leaves spread into a cross shape, you can thin and transplant the seedlings.

4. Thinning seedlings

Pull out the relatively weaker seedlings together with their roots, keeping a spacing of 10-15cm; you can also choose well-growing seedlings cultivated together in a large container and transplant them individually into flower pots.

Tip: The discarded young seedlings can be used in soup or as a salad, sweet, tender and refreshing.

5. Watering

To prevent the seedlings from falling over, add an appropriate amount of soil around the roots after watering.

Note that bok choy seedlings should be watered once a day to keep the soil fully moist.

6. Fertilizing

After the seedlings have grown for half a month, you can begin the first fertilization.

Sprinkle fertilizer granules containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium into the soil and mix thoroughly.

7. Adding soil

Add an appropriate amount of soil around the roots of the seedlings so the fertilizer is fully absorbed.

Tip: Bok choy at the seedling stage is prone to lodging, which may be caused by insufficient light, so give the young seedlings plenty of sunbathing; in addition, bok choy leaves at the seedling stage easily attract insects, so they can be covered with an insect-proof net or gauze cover.

8. Harvesting and thinning

Bok choy can be harvested when it grows to 15-20cm, when it is at its most tender and fresh.

Tip: If you want the bok choy to keep growing, it is best to plant each bok choy individually in a flower pot.

9. Adding soil

Add an appropriate amount of soil around the roots of the seedlings so the fertilizer is fully absorbed.

Tip: What to do if bok choy gets pests?

Anyone who grows vegetables on a balcony knows that bok choy easily gets pests. But when we grow vegetables in pots on a balcony, what we want is green and eco-friendly —— it is not easy to spray insecticides, so what can we do?

Here are two methods to help solve the problem:

Method one: You can plant some strongly flavored vegetables in the pot where baby bok choy is grown, such as celery, garland chrysanthemum, etc. These leafy vegetables can help repel insects.

Method two: Spraying homemade chili water can also help prevent and kill insects.