Crop lessons · Brassicas (cabbage family)
Brassica rapa (heading types var. pekinensis; open-leaf bok choy types subsp. chinensis) · Brassicaceae (cabbage family)
Chinese cabbage is easy to grow and comes in two forms: heading types such as napa and Michihili, and open-leaf types such as bok choy. It transplants well and has a long fall-to-spring season in central and south Florida. As with cabbage, start with clean plants to avoid black rot.1, 2
| Region | Months on the UF/IFAS calendar |
|---|---|
| North Florida | January transplant · February transplant · September transplant · October transplant · November transplant · December transplant |
| Central Florida | January transplant · February transplant · March transplant · April transplant · September transplant · October transplant · November transplant · December transplant |
| South Florida | January transplant · February transplant · March transplant · April transplant · September transplant · October transplant · November transplant · December transplant |
Months follow UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, "What to plant by month"; "transplant with care" is their wording for crops that resent root disturbance. Not sure of your region? Find your county.
| How to start | transplant (easily transplanted) |
|---|---|
| Seed depth (inches) | ¼ to ½ |
| Spacing in the row (inches) | 14 to 18 |
| Between rows (inches) | 14 |
| Days to harvest | 70 to 90 from seed; 60 to 70 from transplant |
Planting dates (SP 103 and Gardening Solutions agree): north Aug to Feb, central Sept to Apr, south Sept to Apr. The commercial handbook (CV122) spaces smaller open-leaf types closer, for example 6 to 10 inches for baby bok choy.
| Sun | Plenty of sun (Gardening Solutions). Full sun. SP 103 advises a garden spot with at least six hours of direct sun a day (general advice, not specific to this crop). |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 5.8 to 6.3 (SP 103's general target for vegetable gardens on sandy soil; no change is needed anywhere from 5.5 to 7.0). No crop-specific figure was found. |
| Water | Water early in the morning so leaves dry in the sun, which helps prevent fungal diseases. |
| Fertilizer | SP 103 notes that leafy crops such as lettuce, kale and collards benefit from side-dressings of a nitrogen fertilizer during the season (general advice for leafy vegetables). |
Frost can damage leaves; frost cloth helps on cold nights.
Ready 70 to 90 days from seed or 60 to 70 days from transplants, depending on variety. Bok choy and napa keep from a few days to about a week in the refrigerator; wrapping bok choy in a damp cloth or paper towel helps (FY1548).
well suited
SRAC 454 lists Chinese cabbage and pak choi among the suitable crops for aquaponics and advises a feeding ratio near the high end of the 60 to 100 g/m²/day range for larger plants such as Chinese cabbage. The FAO manual counts pak choi among the low-nutrient-demand leafy greens and notes Asian cabbages do well in warmer water (22 to 29 °C).
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.
Every fact above is restated in our own words from these documents, written 2026-11-02. Independent of the University of Florida.