chinese broccoli

[rick12]

Ok anyone in BC, on the island grown this and if so what do you do to in order to have a sucessful crop?

[DonnaZn2SK]

I'm not from BC, but I have seen it grown here in Sk. I take it you mean gai lan? It is related to cabbage and will attract the same cabbage worms, so you'll need to watch for that and dust accordingly. It also likes cooler weather, because hot weather will cause it to bolt (go to seed) that much quicker. You can harvest the top portion of the plant (along with some of the stem) and leave the rest of the plant to produce offshoots. The gai lan that is sold in grocery stores have immature flowers...plants with mature flowers are bitter. Also, they come true to seed, so let one or two plants develop seed heads and you won't need to buy it new year. Also, don't let it get too dry, since that will cause bitterness. Hope that helps, I'm not sure what kind of growing conditions you are faced with in BC.

[rick12]

yes gai lan--we are wet that's for sure. i will try it in the shady area with the lettuce. does anyone know if i was to use containers would there be less pests to deal with such as cabbage worms etc?