How to grow choy sum in Australia
Brassica rapa var. parachinensis
Also called choi sum, choi sam, yu choy, Chinese flowering cabbage
Choy sum is a leafy Brassica used widely in Chinese cooking, recognisable by yellow flowers on fleshy upright stems. Its Chinese name means 'vegetable heart'. It resembles gai lan, and unlike cabbage its oval, lightly serrated leaves stay loose instead of closing into a firm head.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
When to sow
We don't have reliable timing for this crop yet. Ask the growers at your garden.
Growing details
- How to start
- Sow directly in the bed
- Sowing depth
- 8mm
- Plant spacing
- 35cm
- Row spacing
- 15cm
- Height
- 35cm
- Germination
- 7-14 days at 7-23°C
- Time to harvest
- 50 days
- Frost
- Hardy, takes a light frost
- Sun
- Part sun
- Life cycle
- biennial, usually grown as an annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.