A Brassica to Enjoy in the Farmers Market Garden

Fun fact:  According to Wikipedia ten of the most common cruciferous vegetables eaten by people are in the Brassica species.  These vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide.  Commonly called cole crops in North America these foods are high in vitamin C and soluble fiber – in other words—very good for you.   
 
This family includes cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, bok choy, and similar leaf vegetables.   This post will focus on one that is especially suited to the north:  Bok Choy.  A cultivar of Brassica rapa chinensis (Pak Choi BOPAK F1) is now featured in the Teaching and Display Garden in an All-American Selection (#AASWinners) bed of Welcome to the Farmers Market Garden. 

                        This is the first in a series of blog posts featuring the All American Selections Display Gardens. 

Brassica rapa chinensis:  The variety featured in the AAS garden is Pak Choi BOPAK F1.  It is a 2015 winner:

• In the history of AAS, Bopak F1 is the first Pak Choi to become an AAS Winner. Bopak matures about 5 days earlier than other varieties when harvested as a baby Pak Choi but it can be grown to a full-size head as well.  The tender leaves and crisp sweet stalks are a tasty addition to Oriental recipes or eaten raw. Swap stalks for celery sticks, add to soups and stews, or grill on the barbecue. Plant every couple of weeks for successive harvests in spring and fall; Bopak retains its nice flavor even in warmer weather. The compact, upright, dense plant habit allows for close garden spacing.  This classy specimen is great for home gardeners with limited space and makes an attractive “thriller” for patio pots and containers.

 
Pak Choi  grow fast, are slow to bolt (bolting means that the plant starts putting out flowers rather than leaves and tends to become bitter tasting) and can last the entire summer.  Plant them in late spring and harvest throughout the growing season.  A second planting in late July allows a harvest until we get a hard freeze.  They can tolerate a light frost which improves the flavor.  The tender early leaves can be added to salads.  As they mature the stalks and leaves can be added to stir fries or sautéed with some oil and garlic.  Even kids seem to like this vegetable.   It is an easy to grow vegetable. 
 
What is All-American Selections?  As written on their website: “All-America Selections is an independent non-profit organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties for the home gardener. After a full season of anonymous trialing by volunteer horticulture professionals, only the top garden performers are given the AAS Winner award designation for their superior performance.”  The Spooner Teaching and Display Garden is one of eight AAS display gardens in Wisconsin. 

The Farmers Market Garden is a display bed in the All-American Selection garden as part of this year’s theme, Get Social in the Garden.    The display bed was designed to evoke a Farmers’ Market whether you are a vendor or a shopper; the instantaneous exchange of conversation over goods ranging from fresh flowers, vegetables or fruit along with an abundance of homemade unique items bringing folks together from all walks of life.  The social atmosphere is electrifying with friendships formed over heirloom tomatoes or a bouquet of daisies. ​

Come to the Spooner Teaching and Display Garden to see over 600 plants that have been planted in the display beds.  The planting of both the display and vegetable beds is now complete and each day there is more to see as the season progresses. 
 
 
The Teaching and Display Garden can be found on Orchard Lane and is located 1.5 miles east of Spooner on State Highway 70 or 1/2 mile west of Highways 70/53 interchange.  It is open to the public daily in the growing season during daylight hours.
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