Beginner Seasoned
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The Guide Crops Vol. 003

Bok Choy

in Zone 9, this week

Bok choy, also called pak choi, is a fast cool-weather Asian green grown for its upright bunch of crisp white or green stalks and tender leaves. It does not form a head like cabbage. It is ready in about a month and grows best in cool weather, and it flowers (bolts) easily from both summer heat and a cold spell on young plants, so the fall crop is the most reliable. Harvest the whole plant, or pick the outer stalks and let it keep growing. Bok choy (pak choi) is a fast cool-season Asian brassica (Brassica rapa, Chinensis group) grown for its upright rosette of crisp leaf-stalks and tender leaves, not a head. It matures in about 30 to 50 days, performs best in the cool shoulders of the year, and is notably bolt-prone: it runs to seed both from summer heat and from a cold snap on young plants. Spring is a short window, so the fall crop is the mainstay; harvest the whole plant or pick outer stalks cut-and-come-again.

Bok Choy mature plant
Fig. 01 · Bok Choy, mature Zone 9
Mature in
30-50d
from transplant
Sunlight
Full sun to partial shade
4-8 hrs daily
Water
Regular
1 inch / week
Spacing
6 in
between plants
Soil pH
6-7
slightly acidic
Today · in your zone

What's happening right now

October 21 · Zone 9 · Stage 01 · Germination

Off-season for bok choy in zone 9.

Seasoned
Microclimate · Zone 9a vs 9b

Your zone, at a finer grain

Zone 9 averages a last frost around March 1. Within Zone 9, the colder half (9a, winters down to 20°F) runs about a week later. The warmer half (9b, winters down to 25°F) runs about a week earlier. The plant app picks your subzone from your ZIP.

SubzoneLast springFirst fallGrowing daysWinter minFruits reliably
9aMar 8Nov 24~26120-25°FYes · two seasons
9bFeb 28Nov 30~27525-30°FYes · two seasons

Averages from 8 weather stations per subzone, drawn from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals. Your actual frost date can vary by up to two weeks based on elevation, proximity to water, and local topography.

Source: NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals Methodology
Your climate region in Zone 9
The season at a glance

Planting calendar

In Zone 9, bok choy can be planted January through April, then again August through October, skipping the summer heat. Harvest runs March through December.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
plant
plant
plant
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plant
too hot
too hot
too hot
plant
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too late
too early
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
indoors
plant out
harvest
Seasoned
Stagger your sowings

Succession planting

Plant bok choy a little at a time, every week or two, instead of all at once, since it grows and bolts fast. Spring is short, so lean on the fall crop, which lasts longer and is more reliable.Bok choy is fast and bolt-prone, so plant in small batches every 1 to 2 weeks within the cool windows rather than all at once: spring is short and the fall crop is the mainstay. The spring window is narrow because the crop must mature before heat and avoid the cold-snap bolt, so most gardens fit only a sowing or two; the fall planting, heading into cooling weather, is the more reliable and longer-yielding crop.

Every 2 weeks · sow a short new rowUp to 12 sowings a seasonToo hot to sow midsummer
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
sow
harvest
keep sowing
too hot
continuous harvest
The season, mapped

Seed to garden

Bok choy is best sown straight in the garden because it grows fast and does not like having its roots disturbed, though small transplants work too. Sow the seeds about a quarter to half an inch deep and thin to about 6 inches apart for baby plants or a foot for full-size ones. The big thing to avoid is a cold spell on young plants: more than about a week of nights below 50°F can make them flower (bolt) once it warms up. The fall crop is the most reliable. In hot areas, plant in fall through early spring instead of summer.Bok choy is fast and resents root disturbance, so it is often direct sown, though young transplants work well if set out before they become root-bound. Sow seed about 0.25 to 0.5 inch deep (NCSU) and thin to about 6 inches for baby types or 12 to 18 inches for full-size heads (NCSU; UMN). For transplants, start only about 3 weeks ahead and set out small. The timing trap is the cold-snap bolt: bok choy held more than about a week of nights below 50°F bolts once it warms, so avoid setting young spring plants into a long cold spell, and lean on the fall sowing, which is the more reliable crop. In hot regions, shift sowing to fall through early spring, since heat and long days force bolting.

  1. 01
    Sow outside
    Jan 15 - Feb 28, Aug 15 - Oct 25
  2. 02
    First harvest
    From Mar 20
    30-50 days from sowing
Start method
Both
Soil temp
45-85°F
From seed to fruit

The growing journey

Stage 01 · Germination
01
Germination
Days 4-10 · current stage
In about 4 to 10 days, your seeds sprout and push up their first two little seed leaves (the cotyledons).Seeds sprout fast in about 4 to 10 days in cool, moist soil, pushing up two seed leaves (cotyledons).
Keep the soil damp and cool. Once the first real bok choy leaves appear after the seed leaves, thin crowded seedlings.Keep the seedbed or starting mix evenly moist; thin or pot up once the first true leaves appear, and protect seedlings from flea beetles.
FROM PLANT · Plant the seeds about a quarter to half an inch deep in damp soil. They sprout fast, in about 4 to 10 days, in cool conditions.Sow about 0.25 to 0.5 inch deep into moist soil; bok choy germinates fast in cool soil, often in 4 to 10 days, as long as moisture stays even.
FROM PLANT · Bok choy is happiest sown right in the garden. If you start it indoors, plant it out while it is still small, after about 3 weeks.Direct sowing suits this fast, disturbance-sensitive crop; if using transplants, start only about 3 weeks ahead so they go out small.
02
Seedling
Days 8-22
The seedlings grow their real leaves and start to form a low rosette. Transplants are ready to set out at about 3 to 4 weeks old, while still small.Young plants build true leaves and a low rosette; bok choy transplants set out best small, at about 3 to 4 weeks, before they become root-bound.
Cover young plants with row cover to stop flea beetles, and do not let a cold spell hit them, since more than a week of nights below 50°F can make them flower early. Keep them watered.Protect seedlings from flea beetles with row cover, keep moisture even, and avoid exposing young spring plants to a prolonged sub-50°F cold snap that vernalizes them into bolting.
FROM PLANT · Cover young plants with a row cover right away, because flea beetles love bok choy and riddle small plants with tiny holes.Cover seedlings with row cover from emergence: bok choy is a top flea-beetle host, and the shothole damage hits small plants hardest.
FROM PLANT · Do not plant young bok choy just before a cold spell. More than about a week of nights below 50°F can make it flower early later.Do not set young spring plants into a prolonged sub-50°F cold snap; more than about a week of cold nights vernalizes them into bolting once it warms.
03
Established
Days 18-38
The plant grows quickly into an upright cluster of crisp leaf-stalks and leaves. There is no head like cabbage, just a tight rosette of stalks.The plant bulks fast into an upright rosette of thick leaf-stalks and leaves (no head). Bok choy is near harvest only a few weeks after sowing.
Feed a little nitrogen, keep the water steady, and check for aphids and caterpillars in the leaf crevices. Keep an eye out for any flower stalk forming in the center.Side-dress lightly with nitrogen, hold moisture even to keep the stalks crisp and forestall bolting, and scout the leaf-stalk crevices for cabbage aphids and caterpillars.
FROM PLANT · Thin plants to about 6 inches apart for baby bok choy or a foot for full-size, and water steadily so they do not bolt.Thin to about 6 inches for baby plants or 12 to 18 inches for full-size heads, and keep moisture even to hold off bolting and tipburn.
FROM PLANT · Check down in the crevices of the stalks for aphids, which hide there and are hard to wash off.Scout the leaf-stalk crevices for cabbage aphids, which lodge deep in the folds and are hard to wash from a crop eaten stalk and leaf.
04
Harvest
Days 30-50
The plant is full-sized for its type, the stalks are crisp, and the leaves are still tender, with no flower stalk yet. Baby types are ready in about a month, full-size ones a bit later.The rosette is full-sized for the type (baby about 6 inches, full-size up to a foot) with crisp stalks, tender leaves, and no seedstalk. Quality is best just before any sign of bolt.
Cut the whole plant at the base, or pick outer stalks a few at a time and let the center keep growing. Harvest in the cool morning, and cut right away if you see a flower stalk starting.Cut the whole plant at the base, or harvest outer stalks cut-and-come-again and let the crown keep producing. Cut in the cool of the morning, chill promptly, and harvest immediately at the first sign of a central seedstalk.
FROM PLANT · Either cut the whole plant at the base, or pick the outer stalks a few at a time and let the middle keep growing.Cut the whole plant at the base for a full rosette, or harvest outer stalks cut-and-come-again and let the crown keep producing.
FROM PLANT · Pick in the cool morning and refrigerate soon. If you see a flower stalk starting, harvest right away before it turns bitter.Harvest in the cool of the morning and chill promptly, and cut immediately at the first sign of a seedstalk, since quality drops fast once bolt begins.
Beginner
Know your soil

Your soil

Identify yours

Not sure what soil you have? Grab a small handful of damp soil from your garden bed and squeeze it. If it crumbles apart easily, it's sandy. If it holds together but breaks when you poke it, it's loam (what most vegetables want). If it stays in a hard, slippery ball, it's clay.

What this crop wants

Bok choy likes loose, rich soil with plenty of compost that holds moisture but still drains well. Steady, even moisture keeps the leaf-stalks crisp and mild and keeps the plant from bolting; dry, hard soil stresses it and pushes it to flower.

If your soil doesn't match

You have sandy soil

Mix 2-3 inches of compost into the top 6 inches of your bed before planting. Compost holds moisture (which sandy soil drains too fast) and adds the nutrients sandy soil tends to lack. Repeat each season. Compost breaks down over time.

You have clay soil

Mix 2-3 inches of compost AND a few inches of coarse sand or perlite into the top 6 inches of your bed. The compost feeds the plants; the sand breaks up the clay so air and water can move through. Don't add sand without compost. It can compact like concrete.

Containers and raised beds

If amending your soil sounds like too much work, or if your soil is heavy clay, full of rocks, or contaminated, build over it. A raised bed at least 12 inches deep filled with a 50/50 mix of compost and sandy loam gives you ideal growing soil with no battles. A 5-gallon container with quality potting mix does the same for one plant at a time. Both bypass your native soil entirely.

Learn more about your soil
The specs

Care guide

The numbers that matter, at a glance.

Sunlight
Full sun to partial shade · 4-8 hrs/day
Water
Regular
Spacing
6 inches
Soil
loam, sandy loam
Days to maturity
30-50 days from transplant
Soil pH
6 to 7
Container OK?
Yes · 2+ gal pot
Germination temp
45-85°F
In a pot

Yes, 2 gallons and up

Bok choy is an easy, fast container crop, and the baby types are perfect for pots. Use a pot at least 8 inches deep, sow seed and thin to a few plants or grow baby leaves close together, and keep it watered and in the cool seasons. Give some afternoon shade in warm weather to slow bolting.Bok choy is one of the better container greens, especially the compact baby types (Toy Choi, Mei Qing Choi), which suit a pot at least 8 inches deep. Sow and thin to size, keep moisture even since shallow pots dry fast and drought triggers bolting, grow it in the cool seasons, and give afternoon shade in warm spells. A pot is also the easiest way to move the crop into shade or shelter as the weather turns or a cold snap threatens.

Pot size
2 gallons and up; 3 gallons is comfortable
Drainage
Drainage holes are a must. Skip the gravel layer. Empty the saucer after watering so roots never sit in water, which invites damping-off and root rot.
Watering
Pots dry out faster than the ground, so check daily in warm weather and keep the mix evenly moist, since drought makes bok choy bolt and turn bitter.Shallow containers dry faster than beds; check moisture daily in warmth and water before the mix dries, since drought stress bolts bok choy and sharpens its flavor.
Depth and shape
At least 8 inches deep. Bok choy is shallow-rooted, so depth matters less than surface area: a wide container at least 8 inches deep gives room for the upright rosettes or a dense stand of baby leaves and buffers the fast drying narrow pots suffer.
Self-watering pot
Yes. A self-watering container suits bok choy well, since it smooths out the steady moisture that keeps the stalks crisp and the plant slow to bolt.
Mix
A light, well-drained potting mix high in organic matter. Blend in compost and a little starter nitrogen; bok choy is a quick feeder but needs only a light charge for its short life.
Feeding
Container bok choy needs only a light starter feed; frequent watering leaches nutrients, but the crop is harvested before heavy feeding would matter.
One to try

Joi ChoiA widely grown full-size white-stemmed hybrid pak choi with broad white stalks and dark leaves; vigorous, cold-tolerant, and slower to bolt, the standard full-size pick (Clemson names it the pak choi type).

3 more compact types

Toy ChoiA miniature green-stemmed baby bok choy, very fast at about 30 days, ideal for close spacing, containers, and whole-plant baby harvest.

Mei Qing ChoiA compact green-stemmed (Shanghai-type) baby choi with pale green stalks, fast and fairly slow to bolt; a dependable baby-to-small-head choice.

Shanghai Green

Winter

In mild areas, a pot of fall-sown bok choy can keep going through winter in a sheltered, sunny spot. In cold areas, move the pot against the house or into a cold frame, or cover it during hard freezes; bok choy takes light frost but a hard freeze damages it.Bok choy tolerates light frost, so a fall-sown container can hold through winter in mild zones in a sheltered spot and resume in cool weather. In cold zones the limited root volume freezes harder than open ground, so sink the pot, move it to a cold frame or unheated structure, or cover it during hard freezes. Watch for the cold-snap bolt: a pot of young plants chilled below 50°F for a week or more will run to seed when warmth returns.

Pot safety

Ask what your balcony or roof can carry

A balcony or roof can only hold so much weight. Before you set heavy pots there, ask a building architect what it can safely carry.Illinois Extension's guidance is to consult a building architect about weight limits before placing heavy pots on a balcony or rooftop garden. It gives no weight figure.

Never grow food in a container with anything toxic in it

Many kinds of containers can be used. Whatever you choose, keep anything toxic out of it, especially if you are growing food.Colorado State accepts nearly any container material but warns against using a container that holds toxic materials, especially for edible plants. Illinois adds that a vegetable container should be free of chemicals toxic to plants or people, and urges caution with treated lumber when growing food. If you cannot account for what a repurposed container once held, that alone is a reason to keep food out of it.

Secure hanging containers well

Fasten hanging baskets and window or rail boxes securely. Think about what is below them too, since they can drip on people or things underneath.Illinois Extension asks growers to secure hanging containers well and to think through the safety issues of hanging them. Placement matters too, since a hanging container can drip onto people or belongings below.

Soil chemistry

Soil pH for bok choy

Preferred
6 to 7
Tolerated
5.5 to 7.5

Bok choy grows best in soil that is slightly acidic to neutral, about 6.0 to 7.0. A simple soil test tells you where you stand. Keeping the soil from getting too acidic also helps prevent clubroot, a cabbage-family soil disease.Aim for a soil pH of about 6.0 to 7.0. Bok choy is forgiving and grows well across roughly 5.5 to 7.5: UMN and NCSU both give 6.0 to 7.5 for Chinese cabbage and bok choy, while Clemson lists 5.8 to 6.5. As with other brassicas, holding the soil toward neutral rather than strongly acidic also helps suppress clubroot, so a grower with clubroot history should lean to the high end.

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Steady hand on the hose

Watering

When & how much
Frequency
Water regularly so the soil stays evenly moist, roughly 1 inch a week.About 1 inch of water per week, kept as even as possible; bok choy is shallow-rooted and bolts faster and turns bitter under drought stress (UMN).
Amount
Aim for about 1 inch of water a week, a bit more when it is warm.Roughly 1 inch per week (UMN: about 1 inch of rainfall a week is good), more in warm, dry spells while the plants are sizing up.
Method
Water at the base of the plants rather than over the leaves, which helps prevent leaf diseases.Water at the soil line with drip or a soaker hose where possible to keep foliage dry and discourage leaf disease.
Signs of trouble
Too much water
Lower leaves yellow and the plant looks soggy and limp, and seedlings may rot at the base.Yellowing lower leaves and limp growth; bok choy dislikes waterlogged soil, which invites damping-off in seedlings and crown and bacterial soft rot in cold, wet ground.
Too little water
Wilting leaves that turn tougher and stronger-tasting, and a plant that bolts (flowers) sooner than it should.Wilting and stalled growth, then tougher, more pungent leaf-stalks and faster bolting; drought stress is a direct bolting trigger and also worsens tipburn of the inner leaves.
Feeding rhythm

Feeding

Frequency
once or twice per crop
Type
Nitrogen-rich fertilizer
When to start
a little at sowing, then a light side-dress 2 to 3 weeks after the seedlings are up

Bok choy grows fast and likes steady nitrogen for tender leaves and stalks. Mix some compost or a balanced fertilizer into the soil before planting, then give it one light feeding a couple of weeks after the seedlings come up. Because the crop is so quick, you usually do not need to feed it much more.Bok choy is a fast leafy brassica that runs on nitrogen for quick, tender growth, but the crop is so quick that one or two light feedings are plenty. Work compost or a balanced fertilizer into the bed before sowing, then side-dress lightly with nitrogen about 2 to 3 weeks after emergence to push crisp, mild leaf-stalks. Clemson gives the cole-crop rate of 5-10-10 worked in before planting, then about 34-0-0 side-dressed; for a 30-to-50-day crop, keep it light, since lush late growth draws aphids and does little for a plant you will cut soon.

N · P · K = 10-10-10

Use a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 at planting, then one light nitrogen feed a couple of weeks after the seedlings come up.High N for fast, tender leafy growth: a balanced 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 worked in before planting, then a light nitrogen side-dress such as 21-0-0, calcium nitrate, or blood meal 2 to 3 weeks after emergence. Do not overfeed a quick crop.

Try Blood meal, 21-0-0, calcium nitrate, or a balanced vegetable fertilizer
Who grows well together

Companion planting

Bok choy is small, fast, and easygoing, so it tucks in between slower crops. It grows well next to lettuce and other quick greens, bush beans, and aromatic herbs like dill, and alliums such as onions. The main thing is to keep it away from other cabbage-family plants, which share its pests and diseases, and to watch for flea beetles, which love it. Most bok choy companion pairings rest on space, timing, and tradition rather than measured effects. The practical ones are structural: bok choy is quick and shallow-rooted, so it interplants with lettuce and other fast greens and tucks beside legumes and aromatic herbs. Aromatic herbs and alliums are the traditional scent-based deterrents for the cabbage-family pests bok choy shares. The well-grounded caution is to separate bok choy from other brassicas, which share clubroot and the whole cole-crop pest complex, a rotation and disease principle more than a tested adjacency effect; bok choy is also a flea-beetle magnet, sometimes deliberately used as a trap crop near choicer brassicas.

Other
Bush beans
Beans add a little nitrogen to the soil that the leafy bok choy can use, and the two share a cool-to-mild season without crowding each other.A legume interplant on nitrogen and structure: beans fix a little nitrogen the leafy bok choy draws on, and the quick bok choy uses the open ground between young bean plants. Sound space and timing logic rather than a measured bok choy effect. Traditional
Lettuce and other quick greens
Lettuce grows fast and low like bok choy, so you can sow them together to fill a salad bed, and both like the same cool weather.Bok choy and lettuce share a cool season, a shallow root zone, and a bed, so they interplant efficiently and are harvested young together. A space-and-timing pairing, not a documented growth boost; the two share no major pest. Traditional
Dill and aromatic herbs
Strong-smelling herbs like dill are a classic neighbor for cabbage-family plants; their scent is said to confuse pests, and their flowers bring in helpful insects.Aromatic umbels like dill are a traditional brassica companion, their flowers drawing the parasitoid wasps and hoverflies that attack brassica aphids and caterpillars. Let some flower nearby; treat it as a partial-mechanism aid rather than a measured bok-choy-specific effect. Traditional
Onions and other alliums
Onions are a traditional neighbor for cabbage-family plants; their strong smell is thought to help put off the pests that hunt by scent.Alliums are a traditional brassica companion, their pungent scent thought to mask the crop from the cabbage-family pests that hunt partly by smell. Shallow-rooted and undemanding, they tuck around young bok choy without competing for much. A low-risk, scent-based aid rather than a proven control. Traditional
Trap crop
Nasturtiums
Often planted as a trap crop for aphids near brassicas. Trap cropping is a documented principle but not a tested bok-choy-nasturtium pairing, so treat it as a plausible aid rather than a proven control. Well-grounded
interplant nearby
Keep apart from
Other brassicas Keep bok choy away from other cabbage-family plants like cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, turnips, and radishes. They share the same pests and diseases, so grouping them makes flea beetles, caterpillars, and clubroot worse.Planting bok choy shoulder to shoulder with its brassica relatives, cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, turnip, radish, concentrates the family's shared pests (flea beetles above all, plus cabbage aphids, cabbageworms, loopers, diamondback moths, root maggots) and shared diseases in one spot, and repeated same-family planting lets soil-borne clubroot build up. Spread brassicas out and rotate where they grow each year. Well-grounded
Strawberries A traditional caution that brassicas and strawberries inhibit each other. There is no documented mechanism or T1 support; it persists as folklore. Traditional
Provenance tagged inline · see methodology for the labeling system Key
Harvest signals

When to pick

Cut the whole plant at the base when it is full-sized and the stalks are crisp, before it sends up a flower stalk, or pick the outer stalks a few at a time. Harvest in the cool morning.Cut the whole plant at the base when the rosette is full-sized for its type, the stalks crisp and the leaves tender, before any seedstalk forms; or harvest outer stalks cut-and-come-again. Pick in the cool of the morning.

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Yield

What to expect

Each plant gives you one upright cluster of stalks: a small baby plant or a full-size head up to a foot tall and a pound or two, depending on the type. If you pick outer stalks instead of cutting the whole plant, you can keep harvesting from it for a couple of weeks.Expect one upright rosette per plant: a baby plant of a few ounces at about 6 inches, or a full-size head up to a foot tall and roughly 1 to 2 pounds, depending on type and spacing. Cut-and-come-again picking of outer stalks extends the take from a single plant over a couple of weeks in cool weather before it bolts.

Bok choy is fast, ready in about a month, so a planting comes in over a week or two. For a steady supply, sow a little every couple of weeks instead of all at once. The fall crop lasts the longest before bolting.Because bok choy matures in about 30 to 50 days, the harvest is quick and concentrated: a sowing comes ready over a week or two, so the way to a steady supply is successive sowings every 2 weeks rather than one big planting. The fall crop yields most reliably, holding longer in cool weather before bolting. The main thing new growers learn with bok choy is that it bolts fast, especially from a cold spell or heat. Pick it promptly when it is ready, grow it mostly in fall, and sow a little at a time so you always have more coming.The common first-year mistake is letting bok choy sit too long or catching it with a cold snap or heat: it bolts fast and the window is short. Harvest promptly at full size, lean on the fall crop, and succession sow so a bolted batch is quickly replaced.

What changes yield
Season and timing: cool-weather, fall-leaning crops form tender rosettes; spring cold snaps and summer heat both force bolting and end the harvest early.Variety: full-size white-stemmed types (Joi Choi, Win-Win) give the biggest heads; baby green-stemmed types (Toy Choi, Mei Qing) are faster and better for close spacing and containers.Even moisture and light nitrogen: steady water and a light feed keep the stalks crisp and growth fast; drought stress shrinks the plant and triggers bolt.Spacing: about 6 inches for baby plants, 12 to 18 inches for full-size heads.
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Pick your variety

Recommended varieties

For full-size bok choy with broad white stalks, grow a type like Joi Choi or Win-Win. For quick baby bok choy, perfect for pots and close spacing, grow Toy Choi or Mei Qing Choi, which are ready in about a month. If you are planting where it may get warm or where spring cold snaps make plants flower early, choose a slow-to-bolt, heat-tolerant kind like Black Summer.Match the type to the slot and the season. White-stemmed types (Joi Choi, Win-Win) are the classic full-size pak choi, with broad white stalks; green-stemmed Shanghai types (Mei Qing, Black Summer) tend to be more compact and a touch more heat-tolerant. For heat and a longer spring stand, choose selections bred for bolt resistance like Black Summer. Baby types (Toy Choi, Mei Qing) are fastest, best for close spacing, containers, and the quick succession sowings that suit this crop. Where bolting from spring cold snaps is a risk, slow-bolting hybrids matter most.

Joi Choi
A widely grown full-size white-stemmed hybrid pak choi with broad white stalks and dark leaves; vigorous, cold-tolerant, and slower to bolt, the standard full-size pick (Clemson names it the pak choi type).
Toy Choi
A miniature green-stemmed baby bok choy, very fast at about 30 days, ideal for close spacing, containers, and whole-plant baby harvest.
Mei Qing Choi
A compact green-stemmed (Shanghai-type) baby choi with pale green stalks, fast and fairly slow to bolt; a dependable baby-to-small-head choice.
Black Summer
A uniform full-size green-stemmed hybrid selected for heat tolerance and bolt resistance, useful at the warm edges of the season.
Win-Win Choi
A large white-stemmed hybrid with good vigor and disease tolerance, productive across spring and fall.
Off the vine

Storing your harvest

Room temp
Do not leave bok choy out on the counter. It wilts fast in the warmth, so get it into the fridge soon after picking.Bok choy wilts within a day at room temperature, so refrigerate it promptly after cutting; if it must sit briefly, keep it cool and out of the sun.
Fridge
Store bok choy unwashed in a loose bag in the fridge crisper drawer, where it keeps about a week or two if kept very cold. Wash it only when you are ready to use it.Refrigerate unwashed in a loose or perforated bag in the crisper; bok choy holds about 1 to 2 weeks near 32°F at high humidity, the crisp stalks keeping a little longer than the leaves. Wash only at use, since trapped moisture speeds breakdown.
Freezer
Bok choy is best fresh and does not freeze well raw. If you have extra, blanch it briefly and freeze it to cook later, especially the crunchy stalks.Bok choy is mostly water and does not freeze well raw, going limp; if you have a glut, blanch briefly and freeze for cooking, where the stalks hold up better than the leaves.
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When something goes wrong

Common problems

01 of 04
What happened Your spring bok choy shot up a flower stalk while still small instead of making a nice plant. This is the cold-snap bolt: young bok choy that sits through more than about a week of cold nights below 50°F is tricked into thinking winter has passed, so it flowers as soon as it warms up. It is easy to blame the seed, but an early cold spell is almost always the cause. Next time, plant the spring crop a little later, after the hard cold, protect young plants from cold snaps with row cover, and lean on the fall crop, which avoids this entirely.Your spring planting bolted while still immature, sending up a seedstalk instead of building a rosette. This is vernalization (cold-induced) bolting: a young bok choy plant exposed to a prolonged cold spell, more than about a week of nights below 50°F, is cued to flower once warmth returns (UMN). It is tempting to blame poor seed, but a cold snap on young plants is the usual cause. Next time set the spring crop out a touch later, after the hard cold, shield seedlings from cold snaps with row cover, choose slow-bolting varieties, and lean on the more reliable fall sowing. Next season Plant the spring crop after the hard cold passes, cover young plants during cold snaps, and grow your main crop in fall.Sow the spring crop after hard cold passes, protect seedlings from cold snaps, use slow-bolting varieties, and favor the fall crop.
02 of 04
What happened The plant sent up a tall flower stalk and the leaves turned tough and sharp instead of staying tender. Bok choy bolts (flowers early) when heat and long days tell it to bloom, and once that happens the eating window is over. A common mistake is planting too late in spring or trying to grow it in summer. Next time, grow bok choy in the cool parts of the year, especially fall, and pick fast or heat-tolerant varieties.The plant ran to a seedstalk and the leaf-stalks toughened and sharpened in flavor. Heat-and-daylength bolting drives a bok choy plant to flower as warm weather and long days arrive, racing past the harvest stage. Growers often plant too late in spring or push the crop into summer. Next time time the crop to mature in cool weather, lean on the fall sowing, choose heat-tolerant, slow-bolting varieties, and keep moisture even, since drought speeds bolt. Next season Grow bok choy in cool weather, especially fall, and choose fast, slow-to-bolt varieties.Time the crop to mature in cool weather, favor fall, and use heat-tolerant, slow-bolting varieties.
03 of 04
What happened The leaves got peppered with tiny round holes, and small plants were stunted. Flea beetles love bok choy more than almost any other crop, and they hit seedlings hardest because a tiny plant cannot outgrow the damage. People often notice too late, after the seedlings are riddled. Next time, cover the plants with a light row cover from the day you sow, keep them growing fast, and clear away cabbage-family weeds nearby.The foliage was riddled with small round shotholes and seedlings were stunted. Bok choy and the other mustards are top flea-beetle hosts, and the beetles are most damaging at the seedling stage when a small plant cannot outgrow the feeding, marring a crop eaten leaf and stalk. The fix is exclusion. Next time use floating row cover from sowing, push fast establishment with even water and a light feed, clean up crucifer weeds and debris, and consider a sacrificial trap planting to divert beetles. Next season Cover plants with row cover from sowing, keep them growing fast, and clear nearby cabbage-family weeds.Exclude with row cover from sowing, push fast establishment, and clean up crucifer weeds and debris.
04 of 04
What happened The inner leaves browned and dried along their edges even though the outside looked fine. This is tipburn, and it usually comes from uneven watering rather than a disease: when growth is fast and the soil swings from dry to wet, the plant cannot get enough calcium to the new inner leaves and their edges die back. Next time, keep the soil evenly moist, do not overfeed nitrogen for a growth surge, and harvest promptly.The margins of the inner leaves browned and died back while the outer plant looked healthy. Tipburn is a calcium-mobility disorder driven by uneven soil moisture and rapid growth, not a pathogen: the fast-growing inner leaves outrun calcium supply when moisture swings (UMN notes Chinese cabbage's susceptibility). Next time hold even moisture, avoid a nitrogen-driven growth surge, choose less susceptible varieties, and harvest promptly rather than holding a mature plant. Next season Keep the soil evenly moist, avoid big swings from dry to wet, and do not overfeed nitrogen.Hold even moisture, avoid nitrogen surges, choose less susceptible varieties, and harvest promptly.
The usual suspects

Pests & diseases

Pests
Flea beetles
P · 01
Symptoms Lots of tiny round shot holes peppering the leaves, made by tiny dark beetles that jump like fleas when you come near. Bok choy is one of their very favorite plants, and heavy damage can riddle or kill young seedlings.Small round shotholes pepper the foliage and the tiny dark beetles jump when disturbed. Bok choy and other mustards are highly preferred hosts, so pressure is often intense; seedlings can be stunted or killed and the holes mar the leaf-stalks of a crop eaten raw or lightly cooked. Cause Flea beetles are small jumping beetles that chew little pits and holes in cabbage-family leaves. They are drawn strongly to bok choy and mustards and hit small seedlings hardest, since a tiny plant cannot outgrow the damage.Crucifer flea beetles (Phyllotreta species) chew the foliage of brassicas and strongly prefer bok choy and mustard; adults overwinter in debris and emerge to attack the earliest, smallest plants, with multiple generations through the season. Organic treatment Cover young plants with a light row cover from the day you sow, and if beetles are heavy use a spinosad spray. The main goal is to get the seedlings up and growing fast, before the beetles riddle them.Floating row cover from sowing is the most effective tool; spinosad helps under heavy pressure. The aim is rapid establishment past the vulnerable seedling stage, so push fast growth. Prevention Use row cover from sowing, the single best defense, keep seedlings growing fast with steady water, and clear nearby cabbage-family weeds. Some growers plant a sacrificial mustard patch as a trap crop.Exclude beetles with row cover from sowing, keep seedlings vigorous with even water and a light feed, clean up crucifer weeds and crop debris, and consider an early trap planting of mustard to divert beetles from the main crop.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Garden sanitation

    Clear out old cabbage-family plants and plant scraps when a crop finishes. The beetles ride out the winter in that leftover debris, so removing it leaves fewer of them to attack next spring's seedlings.Adults overwinter in crop debris and emerge onto the earliest, smallest plants; removing spent brassica material after harvest cuts the local population before the next sowing.

  2. Clearing the weeds that host it

    Pull up wild mustard and other cabbage-family weeds growing near the bed. Those weeds feed the same beetles, so clearing them means fewer beetles waiting for your bok choy.Crucifer weeds sustain flea beetle populations between plantings; keeping the bed and its edges clear of them removes a standing host bridge to a strongly preferred crop.

  3. Trap cropping

    Sow a small sacrificial mustard patch to one side before the main sowing, so the beetles settle there rather than on your seedlings. Check this method's cautions for when to take it out, since the patch helps only while it is being managed.An early mustard sowing diverts beetles from the main stand through the seedling stage, which is when the feeding costs most. Take the removal timing from this method's cautions, because a loaded patch left in place supports the next generation instead of drawing it away.

  4. Floating row cover

    Cover the bed with a row cover, a light fabric sheet that lets in light and water but keeps insects out, from the day you sow. It is the single best defense, because the seedlings are what the beetles can kill.Exclusion from sowing onward is the most effective tool here. Pressure on bok choy runs high, and the vulnerable window is the seedling stage, so the cover's job is to buy the crop rapid establishment past it; keep growth pushing with even water so that window stays short.

  5. Spinosad

    If beetles are heavy despite the cover, a spinosad spray can knock them back while the seedlings get established. Treat it as backup for bad years, not a routine step, and follow the label.Under heavy pressure spinosad supplements exclusion; the goal remains fast establishment past the seedling stage, so use it as a bridge rather than a season-long program, and time applications toward dusk to spare foraging bees.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Cabbage aphids
P · 02
Symptoms Clusters of small gray-green insects with a dusty, waxy coating on the new growth and tucked deep into the folds where the leaf-stalks meet, where they are very hard to wash out. Leaves may curl and there can be a sticky film.The gray-green, waxy-coated cabbage aphid forms dense colonies on growing tips and leaf undersides and lodges deep in the leaf-stalk folds, where it contaminates the harvested plant with insects and honeydew and is very hard to clean. Clemson notes aphid feeding yellows, stunts, curls, and wrinkles the foliage and brings sooty mold, with pressure heaviest on the fall crop. Cause Cabbage aphids are tiny insects that suck the plant's juices and breed fast. They love cabbage-family plants and hide down in the stalk crevices, which is the part you eat.Brevicoryne brassicae, a brassica-specialist aphid (with green peach aphid also present), sucks sap and reproduces rapidly; contamination of the harvested stalks with aphids and sticky honeydew is usually the real problem rather than plant stunting. Organic treatment Knock colonies off with a strong spray of water and hit the undersides of leaves and the crevices with insecticidal soap or neem oil, repeating every few days. Welcome ladybugs and lacewings, which eat aphids.Dislodge colonies with a strong jet of water and spray insecticidal soap, neem, or horticultural oil with thorough coverage of leaf undersides and the stalk crevices; repeat every few days. Conserve natural enemies (parasitoid wasps, hoverflies, ladybugs). Prevention Check the growing center and the stalk crevices often and act early. Go easy on nitrogen, since soft growth draws them, use row cover, and clear away old cabbage-family plants after harvest.Scout growing tips and the stalk crevices weekly and catch infestations before aphids lodge in the plant. Avoid excess nitrogen, use row cover on young plants, and destroy crop debris that carries them over.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Balanced nitrogen feeding

    Go easy on nitrogen fertilizer. Heavy feeding pushes out soft, lush new growth, which is exactly what these aphids multiply on fastest.Excess nitrogen produces the succulent growth this brassica-specialist aphid colonizes preferentially; a restrained feeding program removes that flush without starving a fast leafy crop.

  2. Garden sanitation

    After harvest, pull out old cabbage-family plants instead of leaving them standing. The aphids ride out the gap between crops on that leftover material.Destroy brassica crop debris promptly; it carries colonies between plantings, and pressure is typically heaviest on the fall crop that follows.

  3. Floating row cover

    Keep young plants under a row cover, a light fabric sheet, so winged aphids cannot land and start colonies while the plants are small.Covering young plants blocks the winged colonizers; pair it with weekly scouting of the growing tips and stalk folds so anything that gets established is caught before it lodges where it cannot be cleaned out.

  4. Water spray

    Knock the clusters off with a strong jet of water from the hose, aiming into the folds where the leaf stalks meet, and repeat every few days while you keep finding them.A forceful spray dislodges colonies before they settle deep in the leaf-stalk folds; it is a purely physical knockdown that leaves natural enemies untouched, and early timing is what makes it work.

  5. Beneficial predators

    Let the helpful insects work for you. Ladybugs and lacewings eat aphids, so give them time to find the colony and avoid sprays that would kill them along with the pests.Conserve the parasitoid wasps, hoverflies and lady beetles that regulate this aphid; a broad-spectrum spray removes them and gives the survivors, breeding rapidly, a clear field.

  6. Insecticidal soap

    Spray insecticidal soap directly onto the aphids, coating the undersides of the leaves and down into the stalk crevices, and repeat every few days. It only works where it touches them.Soap kills by contact, so on bok choy the operative difficulty is reaching colonies lodged in the stalk folds; spray deliberately into them and the leaf undersides, and repeat at short intervals.

  7. Neem oil

    Neem oil is another option for coating the colonies. Hit the leaf undersides and the crevices, repeat every few days, and skip spraying on hot days or when plants are thirsty.Neem serves as a coverage-dependent alternative to soap on these colonies; the same thoroughness in the stalk folds applies, and it spares beneficials once dry.

  8. Horticultural oil

    Horticultural oil, a light spray oil, can also smother the aphids it coats. Cover the same hidden spots, repeat as needed, and avoid using it in high heat.Horticultural oil rounds out the contact options alongside soap and neem; whichever you choose, coverage of the undersides and stalk crevices decides the result more than the product does.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Cabbage caterpillars
P · 03
Symptoms Ragged chewed holes in the leaves, green caterpillars on the plants, and dark droppings. Because you eat the leaves and stalks, even a little chewing and mess is a problem.Ragged feeding holes with green or striped larvae and frass; the imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, and diamondback moth larvae feed on bok choy (UMN lists all three), and on a fast leaf-and-stalk crop even light feeding and contamination downgrade the harvest. Cause Several white butterflies and moths lay eggs on cabbage-family leaves, and the caterpillars that hatch (imported cabbageworms, loopers, and small wriggling diamondback larvae) chew the foliage.The larvae of several brassica moths and butterflies feed on the foliage; the adults lay eggs on the leaves, and warm-region plantings see the most pressure. The diamondback moth is often the most numerous in the South. Organic treatment Spray Bt, which is low in toxicity to people, pets and bees and acts on caterpillars rather than on insects in general. It cannot tell a pest caterpillar from a butterfly one, so treat only the plants that have a problem. Or pick them and their eggs off by hand from the undersides of leaves. Spray again after rain, since it washes off.Apply Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) or spinosad targeting young larvae and hand-pick where practical; repeat after rain, since Bt breaks down. Prevention Use a row cover to keep the adults from laying eggs, clean up old cabbage-family plants and weeds, and check leaf undersides for eggs and small caterpillars.Exclude egg-laying adults with row cover, clean up brassica debris and weed hosts, and scout leaf undersides for eggs and early instars.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Garden sanitation

    Clean up old cabbage-family plants and nearby weeds when a crop finishes. That leftover growth is where the moths and butterflies keep breeding between your plantings.Removing spent brassicas and weed hosts breaks the local breeding cycle that carries the cabbageworm, looper and diamondback complex between successive plantings.

  2. Floating row cover

    A row cover, a light fabric sheet over the bed, stops the white butterflies and moths from ever laying eggs on the leaves. No eggs means no caterpillars.Excluding the egg-laying adults preempts all three species at once; keep scouting leaf undersides for eggs and small larvae in case any were laid before the cover went on.

  3. Handpicking

    Check the undersides of the leaves and pick off caterpillars and their eggs by hand. On a small planting this goes a long way, since even a little chewing spoils a crop you eat whole.Hand removal of eggs and young larvae from leaf undersides is practical at garden scale and hits the window when they are easiest to find and have done the least damage.

  4. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)

    Spray Bt, a caterpillar-specific control that is low in toxicity to people, pets and bees. It cannot tell a pest caterpillar from a butterfly's, so treat only the plants with a problem, and spray again after rain washes it off.Bt kurstaki targets young larvae of all three species; it breaks down and washes off, so reapply after rain, and confine applications to infested plantings since it acts on caterpillars as a group.

  5. Spinosad

    If Bt and handpicking are not keeping up, spinosad is a stronger organic caterpillar spray. Save it for real outbreaks and follow the label.Spinosad is the escalation when the softer steps have not held; like Bt it is best aimed at young larvae, and applications belong at dusk to spare foraging bees.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Cabbage root maggot
P · 04
Symptoms New transplants wilt and grow badly or fall over. If you pull one up, you'll find small white maggots eating the roots. It is worst in cool, wet spring soil.Transplants wilt, grow poorly, and may collapse; pulling a plant reveals small white maggots tunneling in the roots and lower stem. Damage is worst in cool, wet soil at spring establishment (UMN lists cabbage maggots among bok choy's pests). Cause A small fly lays eggs at the base of the plant, and the maggots that hatch burrow down and eat the roots. The fly is most active in cool, damp weather, so spring transplants are most at risk.The larvae of the cabbage root fly (Delia radicum) tunnel into brassica roots; the adult lays eggs at the stem base, and the maggots feed below, sometimes killing young plants and opening the door to rots. Organic treatment Once the maggots are in the roots you can't save that plant, so pull and throw away the badly damaged ones. Put your effort into protecting the rest from new eggs.There is no effective rescue once maggots are in the roots; remove and destroy badly affected plants and protect the rest from further egg-laying. Prevention Put a small collar or disk around the base of each transplant to stop the fly from laying eggs there, or use a row cover. Avoid planting into cold, soggy soil, and rotate away from where cabbage-family plants grew.Place a collar or disk around the stem base at transplanting to block egg-laying, or use row cover; avoid planting into cold, wet soil and rotate away from where brassicas grew.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Crop rotation

    Plant your bok choy somewhere cabbage-family crops have not grown recently. The fly seeks out ground where its host plants were before.Rotating away from prior brassica ground reduces the carryover population emerging right where the new transplants go in.

  2. Garden sanitation

    A plant with maggots already in its roots cannot be saved, so pull the badly damaged ones and get them out of the garden. Put your effort into protecting the rest from new eggs.There is no rescue once larvae are in the roots; rogue out wilted and collapsing plants and shift the effort to blocking further egg-laying on the survivors.

  3. Floating row cover

    A row cover, a light fabric sheet over the bed, keeps the fly from reaching the plants to lay its eggs at their base in the first place. That holds only on fresh ground. Over a bed that grew cabbage-family plants last year, the flies emerging from the soil finish up inside the cover with the crop.Exclusion through cool, wet spring establishment covers the period of heaviest fly activity and protects the stage that root feeding kills, the new transplant. Site it on ground rotated off brassicas, since a cover laid over last season's crucifer bed encloses the emerging generation rather than shutting it out.

  4. Stem collars

    Set a small collar or disk flat around the base of each transplant. It blocks the fly from laying eggs right against the stem, which is where the maggots start their trip to the roots.A basal collar or disk placed at transplanting denies the adult its egg-laying site at the stem; it is the per-plant alternative where covering the whole bed is impractical.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Harlequin bug
P · 05
Symptoms Shield-shaped black-and-orange (or black-and-red) bugs on the leaves, which develop pale spots, then brown and look tattered. It is mostly a warm-region problem and loves cabbage-family plants.Shield-shaped bugs brightly marked black-and-orange or black-and-red feed with piercing-sucking mouthparts that leave pale stipples; affected leaves brown and look tattered, and heavy feeding wilts and deforms plants. A warm-region brassica specialist (Clemson). Cause The harlequin bug is a colorful stink-bug relative that pierces the leaves and sucks the juices, leaving pale blotches. It strongly prefers cabbage-family plants, especially in the South.The harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica) specializes on cole crops, most damaging in the southern United States, where it completes several generations a year and overwinters as an adult in debris and weeds. Organic treatment Search out and crush the bugs, their barrel-shaped eggs laid in rows, and the young ones by hand. Use a row cover to keep them off, pull badly infested plants, and clear away weeds and old plants where they hide over winter.Hand-pick and crush adults, nymphs, and the barrel-shaped egg rows; exclude with floating row cover; remove heavily infested plants. Insecticidal soap or neem helps where pressure is severe. Prevention Clean up garden debris and cabbage-family weeds where the adults overwinter, use row cover, and consider a trap crop of mustard to lure them away from the main crop, then destroy it.Eliminate overwintering sites by removing crop debris and crucifer weeds, use row cover, and deploy an early trap crop of mustard to divert overwintering adults, then destroy it before the main crop is set out.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Garden sanitation

    Clear away garden debris, old cabbage-family plants and weeds at season's end. The adults spend the winter hiding in that cover, so removing it cuts down next year's bugs.Adults overwinter in crop debris and crucifer weeds; eliminating that shelter is the main preventive lever on a warm-region specialist that runs several generations a year. Rogue out heavily infested plants during the season as well.

  2. Trap cropping

    Sow a small mustard patch early, before the bok choy goes out, so the overwintered bugs gather on it instead. Then destroy that patch, bugs and all, before you set out the main crop. Pulling it on time is the whole point, since a loaded patch left standing feeds the next round.An early mustard stand aggregates emerging overwintered adults ahead of transplanting, and this crop's guidance carries the step through to its end, destroying the stand before the main crop is set out. The removal is what turns a concentration into a control, and this method's cautions give the timing.

  3. Floating row cover

    A row cover, a light fabric sheet over the plants, keeps the bugs off entirely. Put it on before you start seeing them.Exclusion keeps colonizing adults off the crop and matters most early, when overwintered adults move onto the first cabbage-family plants available.

  4. Handpicking

    Search the plants and crush the bugs, their young, and the little barrel-shaped eggs laid in neat rows. If a plant is overrun, pull the whole plant rather than defending it.Hand destruction of adults, nymphs and the distinctive barrel-shaped egg rows works at garden scale on an insect this visible; removing heavily infested plants outright is part of the same pass.

  5. Insecticidal soap

    Where the bugs are severe, insecticidal soap sprayed directly on them can help, especially against the soft younger ones. It only works on the bugs it actually wets.Soap assists under severe pressure and earns its keep mainly against nymphs, which are softer-bodied than the shield-backed adults; contact is required, so spray the insects, not the plant in general.

  6. Neem oil

    Neem oil is another spray that can help when pressure is severe. Coat the bugs directly, and avoid spraying in high heat.Neem is the alternative contact option where pressure is severe; as with soap, it is most useful on nymphs, and coverage decides the result.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Slugs and snails
P · 06
Symptoms Ragged holes with smooth edges chewed in the low leaves and stalks, slimy trails on the plant and soil, and worst damage in cool, damp, shady spots and after rain.Smooth-edged holes in low foliage and tender stalks with silvery slime trails, worst in cool, wet, densely planted or heavily mulched beds; a succulent low green like bok choy is highly susceptible (NCSU lists slugs and snails). Cause Slugs and snails are soft, moisture-loving mollusks that feed at night and rasp holes in tender low greens like bok choy. They thrive in damp mulch and dense, shaded plantings.Several slug and snail species feed nocturnally, rasping the foliage; they shelter in moist debris and mulch by day and build up in cool, wet conditions. Organic treatment Hand-pick at night or after rain, set out shallow traps, and use an iron-phosphate slug bait, which carries less risk around pets than the older metaldehyde baits. Reduce damp hiding places and water in the morning so the surface dries by night.Hand-pick after dark or rain, use shallow traps and iron-phosphate baits (safer around pets than metaldehyde, though still a pesticide), and remove daytime shelter; morning watering lets the surface dry before they feed. Prevention Thin and space plants for airflow, keep mulch light near the plants, clear damp debris, and water early in the day rather than at dusk.Reduce moisture and shelter near the plants: thin for airflow, keep mulch off the crowns, clear debris, and irrigate in the morning rather than the evening.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Garden sanitation

    Clear damp debris and clutter from around the bed and keep mulch light and pulled back from the plants. Slugs hide in cool, damp cover by day and come out at night to feed.Removing daytime shelter, moist debris and heavy mulch against the crowns lowers the resident population that a succulent, low-growing green like bok choy supports.

  2. Water at the base

    Water at the soil in the morning rather than the evening, so the surface has time to dry before night, which is when slugs come out to feed.Morning irrigation at the base lets the surface dry before the nightly feeding window; a bed that stays wet into the evening maintains exactly the conditions they build up in.

  3. Handpicking

    Go out at night or right after rain with a flashlight and pick the slugs and snails off. Those are the hours they are out feeding, and steady picking makes a real dent.Night collection after rain removes the feeding individuals directly; run alongside shelter removal, it steadily brings numbers down.

  4. Slug traps and barriers

    Set shallow traps near the plants and empty them regularly. They draw slugs in overnight so you can dispose of them.Shallow traps concentrate the nocturnal feeders for disposal and double as a gauge of how heavy pressure is; run them alongside handpicking rather than instead of it.

  5. Iron phosphate slug bait

    If traps and picking are not enough, scatter an iron phosphate slug bait on the soil around the plants. It carries less risk around pets than the older metaldehyde baits, but it is still a pesticide, so follow the label.Iron phosphate bait backs up the physical steps; it is the lower-risk choice relative to metaldehyde but still a pesticide, and it goes on the soil, not onto the leaves of a crop eaten whole.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Diseases
Clubroot
D · 01
Symptoms Plants wilt in the afternoon, stay small and yellowish, and don't bounce back. If you dig one up, the roots are swollen into lumpy, club-shaped knobs.Plants wilt in the heat of the day, grow stunted and yellowed, and recover poorly; roots are swollen into distorted clubs and galls instead of normal fine roots. Cause A germ that lives in the soil infects the roots of cabbage-family plants and makes them swell, which stops the plant from taking up water and food. It stays in the soil for years.A soilborne organism (Plasmodiophora brassicae) infects brassica roots and forms the galls, which block water and nutrient uptake. It persists in soil for many years, spreads in contaminated soil and water, and infects most readily in acidic soils below about pH 6.5. Organic treatment There's no cure once a plant has it, so pull and destroy infected plants. Keeping the soil from being too acidic (closer to neutral) helps hold it back, and growing cabbage-family plants only rarely in that spot starves the germ out.There is no cure once plants are infected; remove and destroy them. Raising soil pH toward neutral with lime suppresses the disease, and long rotations starve it out over time. Prevention Don't grow bok choy or other cabbage-family plants in the same spot more than once every few years, longer if you've had clubroot. Keep the soil from being too acidic, improve drainage, and clean soil off your tools.Rotate brassicas out of affected ground on a long cycle (UMN advises up to 7 years where clubroot is known), keep soil pH up, improve drainage, and avoid moving infested soil on tools and boots.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Crop rotation

    Once clubroot is in a bed, stop growing bok choy or any cabbage-family crop there for several years. The germ lives on in the soil and slowly starves out when it has nothing to infect.Resting spores persist in soil for many years; where clubroot is known, UMN advises rotating brassicas out on a cycle of up to 7 years, which starves the inoculum down over time.

  2. Raise soil pH (liming)

    Keep the soil from being too acidic by liming it toward neutral. The disease takes hold far more easily in acidic soil, so this holds it back.Liming toward neutral suppresses infection, which proceeds most readily below about pH 6.5; pair it with the long rotation, since neither alone clears established ground.

  3. Improve drainage

    Fix spots where water sits in the bed. The disease moves and infects in wet soil, so better drainage works against it.The pathogen spreads in contaminated soil and water, so correcting drainage on heavy or low ground lowers infection pressure on the roots.

  4. Garden sanitation

    There is no cure for an infected plant, so pull it up, swollen roots and all, and get it out of the garden. Every lumpy root left behind adds more of the germ to your soil.Rogue out infected plants with the root galls intact and destroy them; galls left in or returned to the bed release spores back into soil that already carries a multi-year burden.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Downy mildew
D · 02
Symptoms Pale yellow blotches on top of the leaves, with fuzzy grayish growth on the underside, mostly in cool, damp weather. Bad cases discolor and spot the leaves and stalks.Pale yellow patches form on the upper leaf surface with a fuzzy gray-white growth underneath, mainly in cool, damp weather; severe infection discolors and spots the leaves and stalks. Bok choy's cool, humid season overlaps the weather it likes. Cause A mold-like disease that loves the cool, wet weather bok choy grows in, spreading through wet leaves and splashing water. Crowded plants and long leaf wetness make it worse.A fungus-like organism (Hyaloperonospora brassicae) that thrives in cool, wet, humid conditions and spreads by spores in water and air; long leaf wetness and crowded plantings favor it (Clemson). Organic treatment Open up the airflow so leaves can dry, remove the worst leaves, and water at the soil instead of from above. It's hard to stop once the weather stays damp, so prevention matters most.Improve airflow and let foliage dry, remove badly affected leaves, and apply a copper-based fungicide if pressure is high; the disease is hard to stop once humidity stays high. Prevention Space plants so air moves between them, water at the soil line, and pick resistant varieties if downy mildew is common where you live.Space plants for good air movement, water at the soil line rather than overhead, and choose resistant varieties where downy mildew is common.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Airflow and spacing

    Give the plants enough room that air can move between them and dry the leaves. This disease needs cool, damp leaves to get going, and bok choy grows in exactly that weather.Spacing for airflow shortens the leaf-wetness periods infection depends on; the crop's cool, humid season overlaps the pathogen's preferred conditions, so the layout has to do the drying.

  2. Water at the base

    Water at the soil line instead of over the leaves. Wet foliage and splashing water are how this disease spreads.Basal irrigation removes the overhead wetting and splash that spread spores and extend the wet periods the pathogen needs.

  3. Resistant varieties

    If downy mildew shows up most years where you live, pick a variety described as resistant when you buy seed.Where downy mildew is a recurring regional problem, a resistant cultivar is the seed-time decision that lowers pressure before any in-season step is needed.

  4. Garden sanitation

    Remove the worst-affected leaves so there is less disease to spread. Once damp weather settles in it is hard to stop, so the preventive steps do most of the work.Removing the most affected foliage lowers inoculum, but once humidity stays high the disease is difficult to arrest; treat removal as a supplement to prevention, not a substitute.

  5. Copper fungicide

    If the disease keeps spreading despite everything else, a copper-based fungicide can help. It works best applied early, before things get bad, and keep the spray out of ponds and drains, since copper is very harmful to fish and other water life.Copper is the escalation when cultural steps are not holding under high pressure; it is preventive in action, so apply at the first sign rather than into an established outbreak, and mind runoff, copper being highly toxic to aquatic life.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Black rot
D · 03
Symptoms Yellow patches shaped like the letter V appear at the leaf edges, pointing inward, with black veins inside them. It can spread through the plant and rot it.Yellow, V-shaped lesions spread inward from the leaf margins, with the veins inside the V turning black (Clemson); the disease moves through the vascular system and can rot the plant. Often the most serious brassica disease in warm, wet weather, and UMN lists it among bok choy's diseases. Cause A bacteria that often comes in on infected seeds or transplants. It gets into the leaves and travels through the plant's veins, spreading fastest in warm, wet weather.A seedborne bacterium (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris) that enters through leaf pores and wounds and moves through the veins; it spreads in warm, wet conditions and on infected seed or transplants. Organic treatment There's no real cure, so remove and destroy infected plants to keep it from spreading. Don't handle or brush against the plants while they're wet, because that spreads the bacteria.There is no effective cure; remove and destroy infected plants. Avoid working among plants when foliage is wet, since that moves the bacteria. Prevention Begin with clean, certified seed and healthy transplants, don't plant where cabbage-family crops grew recently, space plants for airflow, and avoid overhead watering.Start with clean, certified seed and healthy transplants (a hot-water seed treatment helps), rotate 2 to 3 years away from brassicas, give plants room for airflow, and avoid overhead watering and handling wet foliage.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Clean planting stock

    Start with certified disease-free seed and healthy transplants. This disease usually arrives on the seed or the young plants themselves, so a clean start is the main defense.The pathogen is seedborne, so certified seed and clean transplants close the main door; a hot-water seed treatment adds assurance where black rot has been a problem.

  2. Crop rotation

    Do not plant where cabbage-family crops grew in the last few years. The bacteria hang on in what those plantings left behind.Rotate 2 to 3 years away from brassicas so inoculum surviving in old residues is gone before a susceptible crop returns to that ground.

  3. Airflow and spacing

    Space the plants so air moves between them and the leaves dry quickly. The disease spreads fastest when plants stay warm and wet.Open spacing shortens the warm, wet leaf conditions the bacterium spreads fastest in, and it slows movement from an infected plant to its neighbors.

  4. Water at the base

    Water at the soil rather than over the tops of the plants, so you are not splashing the bacteria from leaf to leaf.Avoiding overhead irrigation removes the splash and standing leaf water the bacterium travels in between plants.

  5. Staying out of wet foliage

    Stay out of the bed while the leaves are wet. Brushing against wet plants carries the bacteria from a sick plant to a healthy one.Work the planting only when foliage is dry; handling wet plants moves the bacterium efficiently, and the rule applies after rain and dew, not just after watering.

  6. Garden sanitation

    There is no real cure, so pull infected plants and get them out of the garden before the disease reaches their neighbors.Rogue and destroy symptomatic plants promptly; with no effective treatment, removal is the in-season control, and the V-shaped marginal lesions with blackened veins make cases identifiable early.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Alternaria leaf spot
D · 04
Symptoms Small dark spots on the leaves that grow into round patches, often with rings like a tiny target. Bok choy is especially prone to it, and spotted leaves are not good to eat.Brown circular leaf spots with characteristic concentric rings (target spots) that enlarge and coalesce (Clemson); on a leaf crop even moderate spotting downgrades the harvest. Clemson notes Chinese cabbage and bok choy are more susceptible to Alternaria than common cabbage, and UMN lists it among bok choy's diseases. Cause A fungus that spreads in warm, wet weather and infects the leaves, leaving spots. It is worse on crowded, damp plantings and comes in on infected seed.Alternaria fungi (A. brassicicola, A. brassicae) infect brassica foliage, spreading by spores in wind and splashing water; infected seed, crop debris, and long leaf wetness drive them. Organic treatment Remove and destroy spotted leaves and old plant debris, improve airflow so leaves dry quickly, and avoid wetting the leaves when you water. Start with clean seed.Remove spotted leaves and crop debris immediately, improve airflow, and avoid overhead watering; a copper-based fungicide can help under heavy pressure. Prevention Use clean seed, rotate away from brassicas, space plants for airflow, water at the soil line, and clear crop debris after harvest.Use clean, disease-free seed, rotate away from brassicas, space for airflow, water at the soil line, and clear crop debris that harbors spores after harvest.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Clean planting stock

    Start with clean, disease-free seed. This fungus can come into the garden on the seed itself.Seedborne inoculum is one of the entry routes, so clean seed removes the infections you would otherwise plant with the crop.

  2. Crop rotation

    Plant your bok choy away from where cabbage-family crops grew recently, since the fungus carries over from old plantings.Rotation away from brassica ground separates the crop from spores carried over on the previous crop's residues.

  3. Airflow and spacing

    Space the plants so the leaves dry quickly. Crowded, damp plantings are where the spotting takes off, and bok choy is especially prone to this disease.Airflow that shortens leaf wetness works directly against a pathogen driven by long wet periods and crowding; note that bok choy is more susceptible to Alternaria than common cabbage, so prevention carries extra weight here.

  4. Water at the base

    Keep water off the leaves by watering at the soil line. Splashing water carries the spores from leaf to leaf.Basal watering removes the splash dispersal route and the added leaf wetness that overhead irrigation creates.

  5. Garden sanitation

    Pick off spotted leaves as soon as you see them, and clear away plant scraps after harvest. Both are where the fungus lives and spreads from.Prompt removal of symptomatic leaves and post-harvest debris lowers the spore load; crop residue is a principal carryover reservoir.

  6. Copper fungicide

    If spotting keeps spreading anyway, a copper-based fungicide can help. Apply it early rather than after the leaves are covered, and keep it out of ponds and drains, since copper is very harmful to fish and other water life.Copper is the escalation under heavy pressure; it protects new growth rather than curing spotted leaves, so timing is early, and runoff matters, copper being highly toxic to aquatic life.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

White rust
D · 05
Symptoms White, blister-like bumps on the undersides of the leaves, with yellow spots on top. Badly spotted leaves are not good to eat.White, blister-like pustules on leaf undersides with chlorotic spotting above; severe infection distorts and downgrades the foliage. A common brassica-greens disease, listed among bok choy's problems by NCSU and worse in mild, moist conditions. Cause A mold-like disease, not a true rust, that makes white pustules on cabbage-family leaves and spreads in cool, moist weather. It can ruin a leafy crop quickly.The oomycete Albugo candida, favored by cool nights, mild days, and leaf wetness; it spreads by splash- and wind-dispersed spores and survives on debris and as oospores. Organic treatment Remove and destroy infected leaves, improve airflow, and water at the soil line. As with downy mildew, prevention works better than trying to cure it.Remove infected leaves and debris, improve airflow, and avoid overhead irrigation; chemical options are limited for the home garden. Prevention Space plants out, avoid wetting the leaves, choose resistant varieties where it is common, and rotate your planting spot.Grow resistant cultivars where white rust is endemic, space for airflow, use drip irrigation, and rotate away from brassicas.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Resistant varieties

    If white rust shows up in your garden year after year, choose a resistant variety at seed-buying time.Where white rust is endemic, resistant cultivars are the primary lever; in-season options are limited, so the seed decision carries the most weight.

  2. Crop rotation

    Move your planting away from where cabbage-family crops grew before, so the disease left in that ground does not meet the new crop.Rotation away from brassicas separates the crop from the oospores and debris-borne inoculum that survive in an old bed.

  3. Airflow and spacing

    Space the plants out so air keeps the leaves dry. The disease spreads in cool, moist conditions and needs wet leaves.Airflow that limits leaf wetness works against a pathogen favored by cool nights, mild days and prolonged moisture.

  4. Water at the base

    Water at the soil line and avoid wetting the leaves, since the disease travels in splashing water.Drip or basal irrigation removes splash dispersal and shortens the wet periods infection needs; the spores move by splash and wind.

  5. Garden sanitation

    Remove infected leaves and clear plant scraps from the bed. Sprays are of little help against this one in a home garden, so cleanup and prevention are the real tools.Removing pustuled leaves and debris lowers inoculum that would otherwise persist; with home-garden chemical options limited, sanitation plus the preventive steps above are the whole program.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Verified · 3 sources View
Seasoned
Where to plant next year

Crop rotation

Try not to grow bok choy or other cabbage-family plants (cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, radishes, turnips) in the same spot more than about once every 3 years. They share pests like flea beetles and a soil disease called clubroot that build up when these crops keep coming back. Plant bok choy after peas, beans, onions, squash, or tomatoes instead.Rotate bok choy and its brassica relatives so they do not return to the same ground for about 3 years. The cabbage-family pest complex (flea beetles above all, plus cabbage caterpillars and aphids) and the soilborne clubroot organism build up where brassicas repeat, and bok choy's quick succession plantings make it easy to keep flea beetles cycling in one bed. Follow brassicas with legumes, alliums, cucurbits, or nightshades, and keep the soil near neutral to help suppress clubroot.

Family
Mustard / cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Years between
3 years
in the same bed
Avoid following
Other cabbage-family plants like cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, radishes, and turnips, because they share the same pests and diseases.Other brassicas: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards, mustard, turnip, radish, and bok choy itself. They share the cabbage-family pests (flea beetles above all, plus cabbage caterpillars and aphids) and the soilborne clubroot, so following one brassica with another concentrates and builds that pressure.
Plant after
Legumes (peas, beans), alliums (onion, garlic), cucurbits, or nightshades such as tomatoes.
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In the app · pre-launch

When plant taps you on the shoulder

The plant app sends a timely reminder at every critical moment of your bok choy season. The wording adjusts to whichever you pick: beginner or seasoned. Here are three you'll see in Zone 9.

p
plant
Time to cut your bok choy Harvest before it bolts
Your bok choy should be full-sized by now. Cut the whole plant, or pick the outer stalks, before it sends up a flower stalk. Harvesting in the cool morning keeps it crisp. Your bok choy should be full-sized for its type with crisp stalks now. Cut the whole plant, or pick outer stalks, before any seedstalk forms, and harvest in the cool of the morning for the best quality.
p
plant
Time to feed your bok choy Side-dress with nitrogen
Bok choy grows fast and likes a little food. Give it one light nitrogen feeding now to help it make tender stalks and leaves. Your bok choy is growing fast. A light nitrogen side-dress now supports crisp, tender leaf-stalks; keep it light, since this is a quick crop.
p
plant
Cold weather warning for young plants Cold-snap bolt watch
A cold spell is coming while your bok choy is young. More than about a week of nights below 50°F can make young plants flower early once it warms up. Cover them, or wait to plant new ones until the cold passes. A prolonged cold spell is coming while your bok choy is young. More than about a week of nights below 50°F vernalizes young plants into bolting once it warms. Cover them or hold off setting out new transplants until the cold passes.
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How we built this guide

Methodology & sources

Every date, temperature, spacing, and recommendation on this page is sourced from university cooperative extension publications, peer-reviewed agricultural research, NOAA climate data, and direct extension calendars. Where claims are softer (traditional gardening wisdom not formally documented), we say so.

Research-backed Documented in cooperative extension publications or peer-reviewed research
Well-grounded A known agronomic principle, but not formally tested for this specific pair
Traditional Time-tested gardening wisdom, limited formal research support
Last reviewed
June 29, 2026
Data version
crops_data_final · v1.0 · schema 2.9
Sources cited on this page
16 publications
Verified entries
Companion-planting claims tagged inline · zone dates verified against 5+ extensions
See all sources cited on this page
  • University of Minnesota Extension umn_ext
  • University of Maryland Extension umd_ext
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension cornell_ext
  • Iowa State University Extension iastate_ext
  • Michigan State University Extension msu_ext
  • NC State Extension ncsu_ext
  • Penn State Extension psu_ext
  • U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Extension uiuc_ext
  • UC Davis Postharvest Center ucd_postharvest
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension tamu_agrilife
  • Virginia Cooperative Extension 426-331 vce_426_331
  • Piedmont Master Gardeners piedmont_mg
  • UGA Vegetable Garden Calendar uga_calendar
  • Clemson Home & Garden Information Center clemson_hgic
  • UC IPM Statewide IPM Program uc_ipm
  • NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals noaa_normals

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Vol. 003 · Bok Choy · plant.lifestyle