Fast-growing and forgiving, per the crop database's own description, with bolt-resistant varieties available for warmer sowings. You can harvest it young for tender baby leaves or let it mature into a fuller head -- both are genuinely valid, just different eating experiences.
Water need
Wants consistent moisture -- genuinely more important here than for most brassicas, since irregular watering is a real trigger for premature bolting.
Calories at a glance
130 kcal/kg -- grown for its fast turnaround and fresh eating quality rather than as a calorie crop (scale is log-based across all 55 core crops in the calculator).
Temperature Range by Month
Month on the bottom, temperature up the side. The pale green background is what the plant can survive at all -- fatal above or below it, labelled directly on the chart where that applies to your zone. The coral band is its ideal range, and only fades in during the months this zone would actually have the crop in the ground -- reusing the exact same sowing/harvesting data as the calendar further down the page. The blue line is real monthly climate data (not a modelled estimate) for a representative rural/agricultural location in this zone -- a small farming town or agricultural research station rather than a major city, to avoid the warmer bias city weather stations have. For the actual verdict on how well this crop does in your zone, see the badge at the top of the page -- that's based on the site's own researched yield figures, not this chart.
Quick Start: Sowing to Storage
- Sow direct or in modules. Sow direct or start in modules for transplanting -- pak choi grows fast enough that either approach works well.
- Choose bolt-resistant varieties for warm sowings. For late spring or summer sowings, pick a bolt-resistant variety specifically -- ordinary varieties run to flower quickly once the weather warms or days lengthen.
- Keep it well watered. Water consistently through growth -- irregular watering is one of the more common triggers for premature bolting.
- Harvest young or let it mature. Pick individual leaves or whole small heads for baby pak choi, or leave the whole plant to bulk up into a full head -- both are genuine, valid harvest points.
- Use fresh rather than store long-term. Pak choi is a fresh-eating crop rather than a storage one -- harvest close to when you plan to eat it for the best texture.
Sowing & Harvesting Calendar
Pick your zone under "Temperature Range by Month" above and this updates too. Most zones show two separate sowing windows -- spring and autumn -- rather than one long summer season, since pak choi bolts readily in the longer, hotter days of high summer.
Calories & Yield
Tropical gives the best yield here, and every zone shows at least a challenging window -- pak choi is genuinely viable everywhere this site models, even if reduced in the coldest zones.
| Climate Zone | Yield per plant | Calories per plant | Viability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical / Humid | 3.0 kg | 390 kcal | Viable -- best yield |
| Subtropical | 2.5 kg | 325 kcal | Viable |
| Mediterranean | 2.5 kg | 325 kcal | Viable |
| Temperate Maritime | 2.0 kg | 260 kcal | Viable |
| Temperate Continental | 2.0 kg | 260 kcal | Viable |
| Cool / Boreal | 0.72 kg | 93.6 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
| Arid / Semi-Arid | 0.9 kg | 117 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
| Highland / Alpine | 0.72 kg | 93.6 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
Figures per plant sown, from the site's own crop database. Boreal, Arid and Alpine already reflect the 60% penalty applied to challenging zones.
Varieties Worth Knowing
Much of the pak choi sold today -- including well-known names like Joi Choi -- is an F1 hybrid bred for uniformity, so it won't breed true from saved seed. The two traditional types below, distinguished by stem colour rather than a specific cultivar name, are the reliable open-pollinated (OP) options; a red-leaved pak choi also exists but is typically sold as an F1 and isn't included here.
Seed Saving -- Quick Guide
Pak choi crosses freely with mizuna, Chinese cabbage and turnip -- all one species (Brassica rapa), different from the cabbage/kale group. Leave a few plants uncut to bolt and flower rather than harvesting everything young.
SERVINGS, NOT DAILY CALORIES This works out plate-sized servings of pak choi from your seed during its fresh harvest window only, not your group's full daily calorie needs. For that, use the main calculator.
BIENNIAL FOR SEED Pak choi is grown as an annual for eating, but is biennial for seed -- most varieties need to overwinter before flowering and setting seed the following year. Plants grow through year one, a few overwintered plants flower and set seed in year two, and that seed is only ready to sow in year three. If you're starting from scratch with no ongoing seed supply, that means having enough seed on hand for both year one's and year two's sowing up front. Plan for roughly double the seed quantity below if that's your situation.
Estimated for your selected zone above, using this site's own germination, loss and yield figures for pak choi -- a helping is roughly what you'd put on a plate as part of a meal with other veg. Treat it as a planning estimate, not a promise.
Storage & Preservation
Fresh pak choi keeps for about a week refrigerated -- it's genuinely a fresh-eating crop rather than a storage one.
For longer-term preservation, it blanches and freezes reasonably well for cooked dishes, and pickling or fermenting (as in some East Asian traditions) is a well-established route to a much longer-keeping product.
Growing Pak Choi Without Bought Inputs
A genuinely fast, forgiving crop once conditions suit it -- its main real vulnerability is bolting under stress rather than pests or disease as such.
Flea beetles and slugs are the main threats to young plants, the same risk faced by this hub's other brassicas.
Fine mesh or fleece over young plants, and hand-picking slugs at dusk, are simple, genuinely effective input-free measures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does pak choi cross-pollinate with other crops on this site?
Yes, genuinely -- pak choi is Brassica rapa, the same species as mizuna and Chinese cabbage (both also on this hub) and turnip (on the Root Vegetables & Tubers hub). All four will cross-pollinate with each other if left to flower nearby. It does NOT cross with mustard greens (a different species, Brassica juncea) or with this hub's kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or kohlrabi (all Brassica oleracea, a different species again).
Can I harvest pak choi young or should I wait?
Either -- the crop database says directly that you can harvest young or mature. Baby pak choi picked small has a milder flavour and more tender texture; left to mature it forms larger, fuller heads with a slightly stronger taste.
Does pak choi bolt easily?
Older varieties can bolt (run to flower) quickly in heat or long daylight, but the crop database notes bolt-resistant varieties are available -- worth seeking out specifically if you're growing in a warmer zone or through summer.