Back to growing guides 
VegetablesHardyBiennial
Chinese Cabbage
Chinese cabbage is a fast oriental brassica grown for crisp elongated heads or leafy harvests, depending on sowing and use. It is best treated as a late summer or autumn crop in many climates, because cool shortening days help it make strong hearts instead of bolting.
Basic information
Category
Vegetables
Lifecycle
Biennial
Hardiness
Hardy
Planting partners
2 companions · 0 crops to avoid
Growth profile
Days to harvest
70 days
Germination window
4–10 days
Germination temperature
10–20 °C
Plant spacing
30 cm
Row spacing
45 cm
Sowing depth
1 cm
Height
40 cm
Spread
30 cm
Calendar
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
Sow Indoors
Sow Outdoors
Plant Out
Flowering / Harvest
Timings based on average frost dates in the UK. Sign up to set your frost dates.
Care tips
Time sowings carefully, as this crop often bolts if sown too early and then exposed to long days or fluctuating conditions. Keep plants moist, protect young growth from flea beetles and slugs, and thin promptly so heads have room to develop.
Common pests
Flea beetles, slugs, aphids, bolting.
Don’t grow with
No crops to avoid have been added yet.