Pak Choy. Germination Method

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?EBGPB 12 March 2013 Pak Choy. Germination Method

Eight Pak Choy seeds were planted. The seeds were wetted on a Kleenex for 48 hours so the seeds just sprouted, then planted in small containers and placed in a plastic bag until germination. The containers were placed on a heating pad in the greenhouse. The plants will be placed in the outdoor garden in the first week of May.

[tjg911]

is it necessary to do all that? some people sprout pepper seeds this way but i never do, i just put into pro mix. the reason i ask is i have pak choi seeds i got from lakelady and i'm going to try to grow them. i never grew this before and assumed i could start them like peppers which is how i start all seeds.

tom

[bitterwort]

You can plant them directly in packs or plugs or even direct-seed them later. They don't like to be transplanted like tiny peppers will because disturbance may cause them to bolt. If you do multiples in pots before setting out, clip out the extras.

[John3]

Pak Choy I understand to be also called Bok Choy. A few years back I started Bok Choy from seeds in soil less mix one seed per hole.

Though she is growing in containers she says she starts her seeds in starting mix

I didn't know this neat tip

I haven't eaten them but in this vid he says the flowers are eatable

used to make Kimchi in this vid instant Kimchi not fermented

[simmran1]

Durgan,

'Small starting containers' look a lot like K-cups... Would you be influenced by Keurig cup re-use? If they is... you wouldn't need the muffin, aka coffee filter to cover the single pierced hole in the bottom.
You can pre-soak just about any seeds, and there are seeds that must be soaked, for these that are kohlrabi-like you may get earlier germination, but they are not kind to transplanting.

[Durgan]

Transplanting. Any small cultivar can be transplanted. The secret is to not disturb the root. I use small plastic cups for seed starting. The soil is very similar to what the soil will be when the plants is placed in its final growing place. When moving up the root is not disturbed, even if this means cutting the side of the pot. I do not use broadcast flats. The plant doesn't even know it has been transplanted.

Soaking seeds. The quantity of plants that I need is small, hence the minor effort in soaking is warranted. This generally improves germination and approaches 100%.

Videos on-line are poor methods of instructing. The information is transmitted too slowly. Videos have a tendency to freeze the computer for no reason. Something which the industry cannot fix. A few still pictures with some annotation is far more useful.

[Doug9345]

Originally Posted by Durgan

Videos on-line are poor methods of instructing. The information is transmitted too slowly. Videos have a tendency to freeze the computer for no reason. Something which the industry cannot fix. A few still pictures with some annotation is far more useful.

That depends on how a particular person best receives and retains information. Some people are much better at understanding and retaining information they hear and some aren't. I'm a person that would rather read(see) information than hear it. Some kinds of information or skills are much better shown in motion than they are with a few static pictures.

I'll give a some examples from baking since I just made bread yesterday. In 20 seconds worth of video I can show someone what to fold ingredients in, what to beat batter means, and how to cut in shortening into flour to make pie crust. Unless you have seen someone do it, I don't think any amount of pictures and words are really going to convey it.

I only watched the first video, but it's well made and even on my "slow" high speed internet connection I only had to paused it for maybe 5 seconds and gave it a chance to cache a little. It was fine after that. There were a few dropped frames but nothing that would make me not watch it to learn something. I've had professors and read text books that had bigger quirks and they were still effective instructors and sources of information.

As far as video or any other program freezing a computer that's a problem with the OS. I've been to sites that have taken one of my browsers out but it didn't take the OS with it. That's why I run Mozilla, Opera and on occasion others.

[biscgolf]

no need for heat to germinate brassicas.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BPQFI 1 May 2013. Pak Choy 10 plants moved to outdoor garden.
The flea beetle attacks this plant, so they were sprayed with Neem oil in an attempt to defeat the attack.The plants did well in the greenhouse.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?EBGPB 12 March 2013 Pak Choy. Germination Method
Eight Pak Choy seeds were planted. The seeds were wetted on a Kleenex for 48 hours so the seeds just sprouted, then planted in small containers and placed in a plastic bag until germination. The containers were placed on a heating pad in the greenhouse. The plants will be placed in the outdoor garden in the first week of May.

Bok choi sprouts SO fast- in 2-3 days in my garden, so why even bother doing them any way other than direct seeding? Sometimes the act of transplanting will cause them to rapidly bolt and seed, so in my opinion it is best to direct seed- anything else is wasting time.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

Bok choi sprouts SO fast- in 2-3 days in my garden, so why even bother doing them any way other than direct seeding? Sometimes the act of transplanting will cause them to rapidly bolt and seed, so in my opinion it is best to direct seed- anything else is wasting time.

What you say is basically true. Those dammed flea beetles hole my beautiful plants. The flea beetle attacks the small plant as soon as they emerge. The beetle tends to leave the larger plants alone. A large Pak Choy plant is a beautiful sight. Some years I have ten or twelve perfect plants, which is my desire. So far with a cool or cold Spring the flying bugs haven't appeared YET.

[FarmerShawn]

Soil blocks work wonderfully for these - I've done it for three years now. I start them in the 3/4" mini blocks, then after germination move them into a 2" block, and when they reach a good size and the weather's just right, I just plop them into the garden. Since there is zero root disturbance with soil blocks, there is zero transplant shock, and the fertilizer boost from the compost-based soil block medium carries them right through to harvest with no additional fertilizers. Flea beetle damage is frustrating, and I do plan to use row cover this year to cut it down, if I can. But really, that damage is largely cosmetic, and doesn't, in my view, harm the eating value of the crop one bit. But for sales...
I admit that I have found very little that starting in soil blocks doesn't work for. Carrots and parsnips don't work, unless you like golf-ball shaped roots, but beyond that, blocks work for just about anything I've tried. Even beets do wonderfully, even un-thinned - 3-5 beets per 2" block develop small, tender beets with greens just fine.
And all brassicas work beautifully in soil blocks.

[MrBig46]

Durgan please, can you show Pak Choi now?
Thank you Vladimír

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by MrBig46

Durgan please, can you show Pak Choi now?
Thank you Vladimír

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SBNXR 23 May 2013 Pak Choy
The flea beetle makes holes in the leaves. My defence is neem oil and insecticidal soap mixture.It eventually removed the flea beetle, but they still did much visual disfigurement of the leaves.

MrBig, did you mean "sow" ? I had to pull my pakchoi weeks ago- it bolts faster than any other cole crop in my garden.