Purple Hybrid Pak Choi Seed Tape

Days to Maturity: 30 from direct-sowing (baby veggies); 45 (succulent young plant); 70 (fully mature)

The only pak choi you need, no matter how you intend to cook this delicious and versatile vegetable! Purple Hybrid is often grown just for its handsome violet leaves, so stunning above lime-green stems, or for its rich, intense flavor. But it is also more versatile than others, because you can harvest it at any point from about a month after sowing, depending upon how you want to use it. And now that it is available in easy-sow seed tapes, you can design lovely parterres and patterns, sow straight rows in seconds, and never fear the seeds washing away in rough weather.

Seed tapes are the easiest and most effective way we have found to direct-sow seeds into the garden (and they also work perfectly in containers). The seeds are embedded into biodegradable strips 15 feet long, so you can cut them to desired size, place onto the smooth soil, sprinkled with a little more soil, and water in. That's it! Evenly spaced seedlings in no time, even if rainstorms, winds, hung.

Purple Hybrid is an ideal candidate for seed tapes, because you can choose when to harvest this versatile Chinese cabbage. At about 30 days, it is ready to be harvested as a gourmet baby veggie: steam the entire head for delectable, succulent eating. Or, if you prefer a bit more growth on this pak choi, let it grow another 2 weeks or so, harvesting around 45 days. Now you have a very young plant with more height and weight, the texture and flavor a bit more developed but the tenderness still great. Finally, for stir fries and stews, let it mature to full size at about 70 days. The mature plant is anywhere from 15 to 18 inches high and 9 to 12 inches wide, with weighty, flavorful stalks.

Purple Hybrid pak choi is best sown successively from late summer all the way to mid-fall, depending upon the first anticipated frost date in your area. Great fresh eating all season—right through Thanksgiving in some climates. In very warm areas, it will also go into winter, or can be started in late winter for early spring crops. And of course it looks as good as it tastes, with those midnight-dark leaves with green undersides and bright green stems.

If you are growing this seed in straight rows, space them about 2 feet apart. As the seedlings emerge, thin them according to the size at which you want to harvest them: baby veggies can be spaced 4 inches apart, while young vegetables need 6 to 8 inches of space, and fully mature plants need 12 to 15 inches.

15 feet of seed tape

Cabbage and Kale are cool-season vegetables high in nutrients, low in calories, and very tolerant of frost. They are used in many of the world's cuisines -- think egg rolls, sauerkraut, and stuffed cabbage, to name just a few! -- and some varieties are ideal as ornamental annual plants. They come in a wide range of colors, head shapes, and flavors, so you are certain to find a favorite among the many delicious (and beautiful) varieties!

Choosing a Variety

When you're deciding what variety of Cabbage or Kale to plant in your garden, your decision will be mainly based on your taste and storage needs. Large-headed late Cabbages usually store well and are good for cooking, proving especially appropriate for turning into sauerkraut. Savoy and conical types are more tender and therefore good for slaws and salads, while Chinese cabbage is heat tolerant and quite versatile -- it's delicious cooked or raw! As far as choosing a Kale, green ones tend to be sweeter while red varieties are somewhat more appealing to the eye. Red Kale also contains anthocyanins, an antioxidant!

When to Start Cabbage & Kale Seeds

Cabbage seeds are best started indoors eight to ten weeks before the last frost, at a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees F. If you want a fall crop, sow outdoors in midsummer. In zone 8 and warmer, if you want a winter crop of Cabbage, sow outside in early fall.

Expect germination in 10 to 14 days.

How to Start Cabbage & Kale Seeds

Sow your Cabbage seeds at a depth of 4 times the size of the seed, or ½ inch deep, in a sterile starting mix and water thoroughly. Once the seeds have sprouted, be sure to keep the soil lightly moist, and feed them with a liquid fertilizer at half strength every two weeks.

Make sure the plants receive plenty of light -- fluorescent light for around 14 to 16 hours a day is also ideal for the fastest growth. You will want to keep the seedlings just a few inches below the light so they don't“stretch”and get“leggy". If you don't have fluorescent lighting, a south-facing window will do just fine.

Chinese Cabbage and Kale do well direct sown into the garden. In cool-weather climates, other Cabbages can be started outdoors as well, up to four weeks before the last frost date. If you want a fall crop, sow seeds in midsummer.

To conserve seeds, group 3 or 4 together at the desired plant spacing instead of the traditional method of sowing in continuous rows. Water well and make sure the topsoil stays moist, especially if planting during the drier midsummer. Once your seedlings have reached several inches and have at least two sets of true leaves, pull up all but the strongest one in each group.

Harvest is usually within 50 to 90 days from sowing, depending on the variety.

Planting Out

Once the seedlings have two sets of true leaves, you'll need to start the“hardening off”process. Do this by setting them outdoors in a lightly shaded area for an hour or two. The next day, give them a longer visit outside until they remain outdoors overnight, still in their pots. Naturally, if a cold spell hits, bring them indoors again to wait for the temperature to rise.

Plant out as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, setting the plants at least 8 inches apart, in rows spaced 24 to 36 inches apart. (Exact spacing depends on the mature size of the plant.) Site your Cabbages in full sun in a rich, fertile, moist, well-drained soil, and feed them with 5-10-5 (or higher) fertilizer or nitrate of soda. Fertilize when first planting out and then every 4 weeks.

Special Considerations

• To avoid cutworm damage, place a tuna fish or cat food can (with top and bottom removed) around the young plant, buried halfway into the soil.
  
• Cabbage can be harvested anytime after the heads form. Just be sure to cut them when they are solid (firm to the touch) but before they split or crack.
  
• Be very careful when weeding as Cabbage roots are easily damaged by cultivation. If you fear the roots could be damaged by the removal of a large weed, clip it off instead of pulling it out.
  
• Carrots, Lettuce, Onions, and Spinach are all good companions to Cabbage.
  
• Dark green, leafy Cabbages contain a lot of Vitamin C, iron, and folate. Cabbage is also a good source of beta-carotene, potassium, and phytochemicals (plant-derived chemical compounds that are non-essential nutrients but still considered to be important to human health), such as glucosinolates, which are believed to help prevent lung cancer.
  
• Don't overcook your Cabbage, as this reduces its nutritional content.

Growing Tips for Cabbage & Kale

• Cabbage and Kale prefer cool weather and can tolerate light frosts.
• They perform best in full sun in moist, well-drained soil that is rich with plenty of organic material.
• If you can avoid it, do not plant Cabbage or Kale where they or other members of the Cabbage family were previously grown -- rotate the growing areas. Members of the Cabbage family include Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Brussels Sprouts, Mustard, and Rapini. They are all susceptible to the same diseases, which can be passed through the soil from year to year.
• It's important to keep your plants moist, but it's especially important for crops that are started in summer.
• Mulch your Cabbage and Kale with up to 2 inches of organic material, being sure to keep the mulch about an inch away from the stem. This will keep the soil moist, control weeds, and provide some food for the plants.

Pests and Problems to Watch For

Aphids and cabbage loopers are some of the most common pests you will find bothering your Cabbage and Kale.

• Cabbage loopers are the caterpillar stage of a type of nocturnal moth, and their name comes from the way they arch their bodies as they crawl, inchworm style. They're very destructive to plants, as they have a voracious appetite for leaves. Covering the plants with screening or a row cover can prevent the presence of these pests.
  
• Aphids are often found on the underside of leaves and on stems and young buds. You can wash them off with a strong stream of water or use an insecticidal soap (be sure to follow the label instructions). Check the plants regularly, as aphids can be a recurring problem.

Rotate your crops to avoid soil-borne diseases.

View All Know Before You Grow Topics

Cabbage Germination Information

• Best sown indoors, 5-7 weeks before planting out, at a temperature of 70-75° and at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds
• Expect germination in 10-14 days
• Seeds can also be sown outdoors in midsummer for a fall crop
• In Zone 8 and warmer, sow seeds in early fall for a winter crop
• It is 50-90 days from sowing to harvesting
• When sowing seed outdoors, we recommend a maximum planting depth of 4X the width of the seed

This leafy green is grown to be eaten fresh or canned as sauerkraut. Ornamental varieties (Acephala Group) are used as cool season bedding plants and in container displays. It grows as a 1-2 foot, round, flattened, or upright head of compressed leaves. Green Cabbage has smooth green leaves; Red Cabbage has smooth purple-red leaves; and Savoy Cabbage has crinkled green leaves. Harvest the head at its base when it is firm, at its optimal size of 15 inches or less, and when the leaves are still tight. Mature heads will last several weeks in the field and for several weeks after harvesting

Superior Germination Through Superior Science

First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.

Superior Standards - University Inspected

Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians

When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.

The Park Seed Gold Standard

Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).

Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.