When to Plant Yangxin Cai? Detailed Planting Times for North and South China

Yangxin Cai is a perennial fleshy herbaceous plant with persistent roots, whose tender stems and leaves are edible; once sown and planted by humans, it can be harvested continuously for 20 years, and it is a health-promoting wild mountain vegetable. So what are the cultivation techniques for Yangxin Cai? When should it be planted? Is there a difference in timing between North and South China?

1. When to Plant Yangxin Cai? Is There a Difference in Planting Time Between North and South China?

1. Planting time for Yangxin Cai in South China

Mid-to-late March to early April, or mid-to-late May and mid-to-late September.

2. Planting time for Yangxin Cai in North China

April to early May, or mid-to-late September to mid-October.

2. What Are the Cultivation Techniques for Yangxin Cai?

1. Site selection

Sandy loam soil with high organic matter content is best; low-lying, easily waterlogged land is not suitable for cultivation.

2. Land preparation and fertilization

For every 1/15 hectare, apply about 5000 kg of decomposed barnyard manure and about 50 kg of multi-element compound fertilizer, then deep plow and harrow finely, and form beds 1.5-2 m wide. Thereafter, apply 40 kg of multi-element compound fertilizer once each year in early spring; after each leaf harvest (or leaf collection), apply 10-15 kg of urea.

3. Introducing seedlings and planting

Plant the introduced seedlings at a spacing of 15 cm between plants and 25 cm between rows, at a depth of 5-10 cm; 1/15 hectare requires 18,000 plants to be set out. Water well after planting to establish the plants, and use this as the mother plant garden. After 3 months, prune branches and use cuttings to establish the planting field. Yangxin Cai planted in the same year gives a harvest in the same year, and enters full production the following year, growing back as it is cut, just like chives.

4. Fertilizer and water management

After planting, topdressing should be applied in small amounts and frequently, generally once a month or applied with irrigation, with 10 kg of urea and 3 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate applied per mu each time. Before overwintering or before greening up, apply 2000 kg of decomposed stable manure or 50 kg of ternary compound fertilizer per mu. After each harvest, promptly topdress with 10 kg of potassium chloride per mu or broadcast 100 kg of plant ash to promote branching and increase yield. If the soil is dry, water promptly, and the water must soak through; Yangxin Cai dislikes waterlogging, so during the rainy season ditches should be cleared and drainage done promptly.

5. Weeding

Every year before overwintering, before greening up in early spring, and after each harvest, loosen the soil and weed promptly.

6. Overwintering and summering management

For Yangxin Cai cultivated in the open field, 20 days before Frost's Descent, except for retaining the base 10 cm of the aboveground part of the plants, cut off all the upper parts, then water thoroughly, and spread a 3-5 cm thick layer of rice and wheat straw to overwinter safely.

7. Harvesting and processing

When Yangxin Cai plants are more than 20 cm tall, they should be harvested promptly. There are two harvesting methods. One is uniform harvesting, that is, while retaining the base 3-4 nodes of most branches, use a sickle to cut the tender stems and leaves horizontally in one go, generally cutting once every about 60 days, with a yield of about 4000 kg per mu each time. Open-field cultivation can be cut 4 times per year, and protected cultivation can be cut 6 times per year.

3. Differences Between Yangxin Cai and Jiuxin Cai

1. Leaf differences

The leaves of Jiuxin Cai are alternate, narrowly lanceolate, ovate-oblanceolate, or elliptic-lanceolate, 3.5 to 8 cm long and 1.2 cm to 2 cm wide, with the leaf tip gradually becoming pointed, the base wedge-shaped, and the leaf margin serrate. The leaves are nearly leathery.

The leaves of Yangxin Cai are alternate and numerous, oblanceolate, 5 to 8 cm long and 1.5 to 2 cm wide.

2. Flower differences

Jiuxin Cai has cymes, with 5 petals. The color is yellow, and the shape is oblong to elliptic-lanceolate, 6 to 10 mm long, with a short tip.

Yangxin Cai has terminal cymes, and each flower has 5 petals, yellow, and elliptic-lanceolate in shape.