The Ultimate Guide to Growing Tatsoi: Cultivating Fresh Greens with Ease 🌱🥗

Tatsoi, also known as spoon mustard or rosette bok choy, is a versatile and nutritious leafy green that adds a delightful touch to salads, stir-fries, and soups. Known for its mild mustard flavour and tender texture, Tatsoi is a cool-weather crop that thrives in both spring and autumn gardens. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through every step of growing Tatsoi, from sowing seeds to harvesting and preserving your crop.

Sowing Outdoors

Growing Tatsoi outdoors is a straightforward process that, with the right conditions, can yield a bountiful harvest of fresh greens.

Soil and Site Preparation: Start with sterile, disease-free, and weed-free soil to ensure the healthiest start for your seedlings. Tatsoi prefers cool weather, so plan your sowing schedule accordingly.
Timing: Sow seeds in well-worked soil in full sun. Avoid planting in areas where cabbage family members have grown in the past two years to reduce the risk of disease. Sow in early spring or midsummer for a fall crop.
Planting Depth and Spacing: In rows 60 cm apart, sow seeds evenly and cover them with 1 cm of fine soil. Firm the soil lightly and water gently to encourage germination.
Seedling Emergence: Depending on soil and weather conditions, seedlings will emerge in 10-21 days. To ensure a continuous harvest, sow seeds every 14 days until the weather becomes too warm.
Thinning: Once seedlings are 2-5 cm high, thin them gradually to 30 cm apart to give each plant enough space to mature.

Sowing Indoors

For those looking to get a head start on the growing season, sowing Tatsoi seeds indoors is an excellent option.

Soil and Environment: Use sterile, disease-free, and weed-free soil in a seed-starting kit. Sow seeds 6-8 weeks before the last frost, planting them 0.5 cm deep in seed-starting formula.
Temperature and Moisture: Maintain the soil at a constant 23°C, keeping it moist to encourage germination. Seedlings typically emerge within 7-14 days.
Lighting Requirements: As soon as the seedlings emerge, place them in a sunny spot or under fluorescent lights set 7-10 cm above the plants. Ensure the lights are on for 16 hours per day, with an 8-hour night cycle.
Minimal Fertilisation: Feed seedlings with a half-strength indoor plant food solution when they are 3-4 weeks old.
Transplanting: If seedlings are grown in small cells, transplant them into 7-10 cm pots once they have three pairs of leaves. This gives them room to develop strong roots before being moved to the garden.
Hardening Off: Before planting outdoors, harden off the seedlings by gradually introducing them to outdoor conditions over a week. This process reduces transplant shock and prepares the plants for the garden environment.

Planting in the Garden

Once your Tatsoi seedlings are ready, it's time to transplant them into your garden.

Soil Preparation: Choose a sunny location with rich, moist, organic soil. Avoid planting in areas where tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or potatoes were grown the previous year to prevent disease issues.
Spacing and Planting: Prepare the bed by turning the soil to a depth of 20 cm and removing any clumps of grass and stones. Dig holes large enough to accommodate the root ball of each plant, ensuring good root development by gently loosening the root ball with your hands.
Watering: After planting, water thoroughly to settle the plants and eliminate air pockets. This helps establish strong root-to-soil contact.

Growing Tips

Caring for Tatsoi during the growing season is key to producing a healthy and abundant crop.

Weed Control: Keep weeds under control as they compete with your Tatsoi plants for water, nutrients, and space. Use mulch or cultivate often to prevent weed seeds from germinating.
Mulching: Applying an organic mulch, such as aged bark or shredded leaves, helps retain soil moisture and maintain even temperatures. Mulch also enhances the soil as it decomposes.
Watering: Ensure Tatsoi receives about 2 cm of water per week. It’s best to use a drip irrigation system to deliver water at low pressure directly to the soil, reducing the risk of disease. If using overhead sprinklers, water early in the day to allow the foliage to dry before evening.
Fertilisation: Feed your plants as needed to maintain healthy growth, especially during critical periods of development.
Pest and Disease Monitoring: Regularly inspect your Tatsoi for pests and diseases, taking early action to protect your plants.

Harvest and Preservation

Tatsoi is a quick-growing crop, often ready for harvest within 45 days of sowing.

When to Harvest: Harvest young foliage when it reaches 15-20 cm in length. You can pick the lower leaves individually or harvest the entire plant before the leaves become too tough.
Fall Harvest: For a fall crop, harvest after a light frost, which can enhance the flavour of the leaves.
Post-Flowering: Stop harvesting once the plants flower, as the leaves will turn bitter. However, the flowers themselves are edible and can be used in salads or as garnishes.
Culinary Uses: Tatsoi leaves are excellent in salads, stir-fries, or as cooked greens. They can also be boiled or sautéed.
Preservation: Store harvested Tatsoi in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. Alternatively, blanch and freeze the leaves for longer storage, or try pickling them for a tangy treat.