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Elementary method to grow Bok Choy/Pak Choi in containers at home in USA

Bok choi or Pak choi is a leafy vegetable with antioxidants, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. These vegetables are easy to grow at home as same as cabbage, broccoli, etc. Like every other green leafy vegetable, Bok choy grows better in cool climates rather than in warm or hot regions. 

Growing bok choy in containers is not difficult for beginners though because of the short harvesting period.  But still, minor mistakes may cause bigger damage, so if you are starting from scratch, then don't worry, I am here to help you. 

Growing bok choy in containers at home 

First, you should know what are the ideal growing conditions for Bok choy outdoors and indoors. Also, you need particular gardening tools required with specific certain materials to grow bok choy. Gardeners, let's take a quick eye on these, and then we'll move on further to the method of growing bok choy. 

Growing bok choy in containers usa

Season of growing Bok Choy 

In cool climates, Bok choy is mostly better to grow in spring. You can start sowing seeds in early spring so you can harvest them in the next 6 to 8 weeks. Also, you can grow them in late summer so that to harvest them before the first frost. 

Unfortunately, I'll not prefer you to grow bok choy in warm or hot climates. But still, if you can keep growing conditions as follows indoors, then it is possible to grow them even in warm climates. Keeping the temperature cool according to bok choy needs is very effective with the combination of sunlight. 

Growing conditions to grow Bok Choy 

  • Soil type 

Like every leafy vegetable, rich and well-drained soil is enough to grow bok choy. General garden soil doesn't have that much potential to provide such minerals and nutrients to plants so you have to prepare a soil mixture of garden soil, compost, and sand. This mixture should be moist enough for sowing seeds. You need to prepare two different soil mixtures for bok choy; at the time of sowing, and for transplantation. 

  • Sunlight and shade

Regular sunlight of 5 to 7 hours a day is good for bok choy plants. They can tolerate some partial shade for 2 to 3 hours a day. Intense sunlight is bad for too long a period for bok choy, so keep this thing in mind. 

  • Climate conditions and temperature

Cool climate conditions are good for bok choy but too cold or snowfall is bad for it. If frost comes before its peak then shift them indoors at least for the night. Although it doesn't die in these conditions it affects bok choy's overall growth. The best-growing temperature for bok choy is between 45F to 75F till its harvesting. 

Other requirements to grow Bok choy 

Tool required 

  • Basic gardening tools like a planter, small cultivator, and harvesting knife.
  • Scissors
  • Safety gloves

Materials required 

  • Garden soil 
  • Compost
  • Sand
  • Bok choy seeds

Containers for bok choy 

The best containers for Bok choy are not too deep because roots get moderate growth in size. You need a wide container for four to five plants that has dimensions of 18 to 20 inches long, and up to 15 inches wide. The depth of the container should be 8 to 10 inches. Choose lightweight containers for bok choy in case you need to shift them from time to time, it will be helpful. 

Step by step guide to growing Bok Choy 

Step 1- Prepare nursery beds and soil for seeds

First, you have to prepare a soil bed to germinate bok choy seeds. For that, you need nursery cup beds to fill the soil in and sowing seeds. Prepare a soil mixture of garden soil, sand, and compost of 2:1:1 for nursery beds. Fill this mixture in the cups up to 80%.

Step 2- Soak seeds for a while in the water

Now, remove the seeds from the packets and soak them in water for half an hour. It will hydrate them enough for further germination. Now, filter the soaked bok choy seeds on a cloth or tissue paper. 

Step 3- Seed sowing and germination

Wear safety gloves and make some space with your fingers in the soil beds for these seeds. Put two or three seeds in each space and cover all of them with the same soil mixture of a 1 cm thin layer. Spray some water but don't wet the soil beds. After a couple of days(up to 10), seeds will start germination and grow further. 

Step 4- Young plant transplantation

After 20 to 25 days, these germinated plants will become young bok choy plants and you can transplant them into bigger pots to provide them with better space and growth further. Prepare a new soil mixture in the bigger containers. Take garden soil, sand, and compost in a ratio of 2:1:2 and mix it well. Spray some water to make the new mixture moist enough for bok choy plants.

Use your gloves to make bigger space in these containers according to the size of the recent size of cup growing plants. Carefully remove the young plants from nursery cup beds. Plant them in the new containers without damaging them and cover them with soil. Spray some water to make this moist enough for young plants. 

Step 5- Further care of Bok Choy plants

Keep these containers in sunlight for at least 5 to 7 hours a day. If sunlight is too intense then keep them in partial shade. Irrigate bok choy plants regularly within every 5 to 7 days. You can reduce the gap of irrigation if the soil is getting dry quickly. 

You can remove the bottom leaves in the early stages so that the plant can focus on the upper section mostly. 

Step 6- Binding the leaves together

After 35 days, you can bind the bottom portion of these bok choy leaves with a soft thread. This is not necessarily required but to get the natural shape of bok choy it helps. 

Step 7- Harvesting Bok Choy veggies

So finally, after 45 to 55 days, you can harvest your bok choy plants with the roots directly. You don't need to remove leaf after leaf, just harvest them as you harvest cabbage. Use a harvesting knife or scissors to cut the bottom portion of the bok choy and remove it whole. You can remove them with the whole roots if you want to use the soil further. 

But remove the roots after harvesting and wash them before using these fresh leafy vegetables. 

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