Purple Choy Sum

(brassica rapa)

Purple choy sum, also known as Hon Tsai Tai, is a type of asian greens vegetable iwth purple stems and green leaves. It’s a quick-growing, cut-and-come-again variety, meaning you can harvest stems and leaves multiple times. The purple color intensifies in cooler weather. It’s commonly used in stir-fries, salads, soups, and can be harvested before flowering for optimal taste: Sow from early Sept to late Oct and Feb-April. Prior to sowing add a good layer of mushroom compost and rake in complete organic fertiliser. Sow seed 1 cm apart in 5 mm deep furrows about 60 cm apart. Thin the plants to about 8 cm in the row. Autumn sown plants can stay in the ground and be cut several times.