The Asian greens are very rewarding and - for the most part - FAST. Their speed enables you to either make successive plantings of them or to use their containers for other plants in summer. The permutations are almost endless, but, for example, in the same container you could grow Asian greens in early spring, cucumbers in summer, beets or carrots in the fall. You really maximize your space in this manner. Many of the Asian greens are suited to interplanting as well: if you're planting the taller kind of bok choy, you can plant carrots under it, for example. Or you could plant baby bok choy in a circle around a pepper plant.

Please note: All the greens listed on this page (except shungiku) are brassicas: members of the cabbage family. Please refer to my brassica article for easy, effective ways to protect these plants from damage caused by the larvae of cabbage butterflies and cabbage moths.

You can scroll down through all the Asian greens or go directly to one type by clicking here:
Bok Choy

Choy Sum	Mizuna	Shungiku	Tat Soi
Vitamin Green

Bok Choy - Item #BC101 Brassica rapa var. chinensis This is similar to the bok choy we see in supermarkets: long, thick, white stalks, and dark green leaves. But when you grow it yourself, it's much better of course - the stalks are tender and delicious. Very good for stir-fries. You can eat it at any stage: from the merest baby to a tall plant. If your bok choy has flower buds or flowers, they are edible too. Growing directions. (From Cornell University's Cooperative Extension Website. Will open in new window: close window to return here). In spite of the fact that the Cornell directions say to wait until after the last frost to transplant out your bok choy to prevent possible bolting, I usually don't wait that long - in our area, the last frost is late. You can protect your container-grown bok choy from cold nights quite easily by covering it with floating row cover, and this will greatly lessen the possibility of bolting. It will certainly bolt to seed in hot summer. So I advise growing it early. Recommended container size: This is a sizeable plant, from 1' to 2' tall at maturity. I grow it in a 12" deep pot, with about 14" diameter. I grow 3 plants in that size pot. Quantity - 40 seeds Price - $ 1.70

Choy Sum, Extra Dwarf - Item #BC102 Brassica rapa var. parachinensis This is a flowering brassica: you eat the stems, leaves, and flower shoots. Choy sum has thick white stems, dark green leaves, and little yellow flower buds. This is a tiny plant, and should be harvested at about 4" tall. Like the Green Baby Bok Choy, this plant is also fast, fast, fast.... and will be ready to harvest in 3 to 4 weeks after seed is sown. Delicious in stir-fries, soups, and as a steamed vegetable. It's tender and sweet enough to chop up and use in a salad as well. Growing directions. (From Cornell University's Cooperative Extension Website. Will open in new window: close window to return here). These directions are for bok choy, but they apply to choy sum as well. In spite of the fact that the Cornell directions say to wait until after the last frost to transplant out your bok choy to prevent possible bolting, I don't wait, either with bok choy or with choy sum. In the case of this baby choy sum, it won't have time to bolt anyway: you will have eaten before it can bolt. Recommended container size: A 4" pot would be enough for one plant. Any larger pot (a mixed planting, perhaps) with at least 4" depth of soil will be fine. Quantity - 40 seeds Price - $ 1.70

Mizuna - Item #MIZ101 Brassica rapa var. nippposinica or var. japonica This is completely different from the "stalk" plants listed above. Mizuna is an exceptionally pretty plant that forms a giant rosette of finely dissected, feathery leaves. It's a really great choice for ornamental containers, and a good choice for underplanting: - plant it under growing pepper or tomato plants, for instance. Mizuna can be used as a braising green, but I think that - in the west - it's most often used in salads (as part of mesclun mix). While technically a mustard, it doesn't taste like a mustard to me: the flavor is very mild. You can begin harvesting this variety of mizuna about 40 days after transplanting it out - harvest by the cut-and-come-again method or make several plantings. This one is another favorite of mine. Growing directions. (From Cornell University's Cooperative Extension Website. Will open in new window: close window to return here). Recommended container size: 8" of depth should suffice, but mizuna forms a fairly large rosette: I think it will need at least 12" in diameter. Quantity - 40 seeds Price - $ 1.50

Shungiku (Edible Chrysanthemum) - Item #HB107 Chrysanthemum coronarium Shungiku is also known as "garland chrysanthemum" and "chop suey greens" in English, and several other names in various Asian languages. I don't know whether to call this an Asian green, an herb, or an edible flower. It's really all three. It's a very pleasant, good tasting plant too: leaves are used in soups, stir-fries, or tossed on salads. They are also used in pickles, sushi, or suki-yaki and other Japanese dishes. It's very difficult to describe a taste, but I'd say that shungiku has a fresh, crisp, floral-mint taste. Our seeds are from the fine (or fern)-leafed strain of shungiku - it's more decorative than the plainer, larger leaf type. You can start snipping leaves about 21 days after sowing seeds, or when they are at least 4" tall. Left unharvested, the plant will eventually become 3-4 feet tall and bear (rather unexciting) yellow or orange flowers. The flowers can be used as an edible garnish. Growing directions: this plant likes cool weather, so plant in spring and and again in late summer for fall growing. Germination temperature: around 70 F (21 C). I start shungiku seeds in the house, at normal room temperature. Time to germinate: about 6-14 days. Transplant out in spring, but when the worst of winter's cold is over. I transplant mine out about one week before our expected last frost date. I have never had any problems or diseases or insect damage with shungiku. Recommended container size: About 10" in soil depth, and about 12" diameter, minimum. Larger would be fine too. Quantity - 50 seeds Price - $ 1.50

Tat Soi - Item #TS101 Brassica rapa var. rosularis Tat soi forms a flat, ground-hugging rosette of dark green leaves (so dark they almost appear to be black). It's a very ancient Asian vegetable and one of the hardiest greens of all. Cook it as you would bok choy, using individual leaves or little clusters of leaves. It has a delicate flavor and is good in soups, or stir-fried Chinese style, or stir-fried and seasoned with nutmeg and a little butter, or sauteed in olive oil with garlic. A very versatile vegetable, and one that will endure quite a degree of cold. Tat soi is often grown through fall into winter, in hoophouses or under cold frames, or even just under row cover in many locations. Growing directions. (From Cornell University's Cooperative Extension Website. Will open in new window: close window to return here). These directions are for Chinese cabbage, but they applicable to tat soi as well, with the exception that tat soi is more cold-hardy. Recommended container size: I think 10" of depth will suffice: the rosette can be up to 20" in diameter, so a fairly large area is required for tat soi. If you want to harvest it young, you can use a smaller container. You can also grow tat soi under such things as peppers or tomatoes, and it would make a good edging for a flower bed. Quantity - 50 seeds Price - $ 1.50

Vitamin Green (also called Vitaminna) - Item #VG101 Brassica rapa var. chinensis Vitamin green is a distinct variety of non-heading Chinese cabbage. It looks very like (a somewhat smaller) Swiss chard. The leaves are dark green, and grow in an upright bunch. Leaves are tender and flavorful: definitely not mustardy. Vitamin green can be used in stir-fries and salads, or steamed. They are excellent if stir-fried with garlic and onion. This is a really nice Asian green - one of the best - in spite of its silly name. Growing directions. (From Cornell University's Cooperative Extension Website. Will open in new window: close window to return here). Recommended container size: 10" of depth should be enough, and the area is up to you. Quantity - 50 seeds Price - $ 1.50