Chinese cabbage questions

[wifezilla]

This is my first year growing it. It should have headed by now but our weird weather was really cold for a long time and now we are going to hit record highs. So no real hope of it heading, so I cut it back.

Allegedly it can be cut and come again. Is this true??? Anyone try this?

If it's not, no biggie. I am blanching the leaves for cabbage rolls so I still got a good harvest. Just wondering if I should bother trying to keep them going or if I should pull them up and plant something else.

Any advice?

 

[digitS']

No advice or experience with cut and come again, Wife', just a little history.

Sometimes, I can have nice Chinese cabbage growing it in the plastic tunnel. That hasn't happened this time.

That is, it doesn't look like napa cabbage in the soopermarket nor one of those open-headed types you can find in catalog pictures. I've had those too and tried again this year . . .

They have bolted even with the humidity and all in the tunnel. Maybe it just got too cold in there a few nights - must have come very close to freezing a couple of times in May. Maybe it got too warm . . .

Anyway, I figger they wouldn't have stood much of a chance outdoors and they have done nicely in the past. Besides, the flowering stalks are every bit as tender and tasty as bok choy when it tries to get away with bolting ! Well now wait a minute, as far as the flowering stalks being cut and coming again - that works fairly well!

Steve

 

[wifezilla]

It is a darn good thing I went out and cut them all. I found about a dozen little green caterpillars when I was cleaning the leaves. I also found a couple of clutches of white fly eggs. Looks like I got to everything just in time.

I used the more tender leaves to make a 2.5 qt batch of coleslaw and blanched and froze about 3 dozen large leaves for cabbage rolls. Those will wait until fall since there is no way I am turning on the oven any time soon

I ended up with 2 walmart bags full of stems and leaves with bug holes. Those will be duck snacks. The bugs went right to the baby quail pen. Boy was there a riot when I put the first one in. These quail are only 3 weeks old and have never seen a caterpillar. Instinct totally kicked in though. One grabbed it and ran off with it's clutch mates running after it. My very own quail rugby match!!!



So what I think I will do now is hit that bed with a blast of neem oil spray and see what happens. There are still some carrots and chufa in there so i am not in a rush to plant something new. If I don't see new growth on the cabbage by the time the carrots are ready, I will just dig it all up and plant something else.