Hon Tsaï Tai in hydro By Noucetta Kehdi – GHE I discovered Hon Tsaï Tai not long ago, when Marion Sourdois and Nicolas Sarle founders of “Les Sourciers” (http://lessourciers.com/) started their hydroponics commercial project next door to us, here in Gascony, France. During their market study researching the right plants to grow, it appeared that this is one of the plants most sought for today by cooks and chefs everywhere. Hon Tsaï Tai (Brassica rapa chinensis) belongs to the Mustard genus and is a variety of Chinese cabbage. It is very close to Bok choy, a vegetable we are more familiar with, it is a leafy, tall, with long Young Hon Tsaï Tai in an AeroFlo purple stems and yellow flowers, also known as “Chinese flowering cabbage” or “purple Choy Sum”. Needless to say that it has been used in Chinese cuisine since the longest time, and is getting more in demand here because of its many qualities. Easy to grow, fast, and highly nutritious, all its parts are edible, leaf, flower buds and stems. You can eat it young and chop it raw in salads, or you can eat it mature, stir-fried, it always adds a nice flavour of mustard into your dishes. It also improves your diet, with very high calcium and iron content, as well as vitamin A, C, and K. It seems to be scientifically proven also that Hon Tsaï Tai, like many of the cabbages, is excellent against cancers, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Hon Tsaï Tai grows best in winter, from October till April. Cold hardy, the purple colour intensifies as the temperature drops. As soon as the first shoots of stems and flowers appear you can start harvesting them. They will grow again and again all along the season. The entire crop lasts between 35 and 50 days, so it has a fast turn over and if you are in an area with mild winters and cool summers, you can grow them year round. Choy Sum (choy means “vegetable” or “cabbage”, sum means “heart”) is the most tender of the Bok choys and usually one of the most expensive Chinese greens. They are extremely prolific, especially in a hydroponic system, and are an excellent addition to your family diet as well as to your growing operation. In order to test them for Marion and Nicolas, we planted some in an AeroFlo, and fed them with Flora Series as usual. Their growth was tremendous, this is one of those plants who love hydroponics and rewards you with the best results. We haven’t done it yet, but you can also grow them bioponically (organic hydroponics) with BioSevia, if you prefer your plant food to be organic. Attached is a feeding chart adapted to bioponics. To make sure you understand how bioponics BioSevia and BM for works, the best and easiest is to open http://gb.eurohydro.com/bioponics.html and read the inforBioponics mation on that growing option. Due to fast growth and turn over, and although the plant seems fragile to some insects like aphids, caterpillars, snails and slugs, and diseases, mainly white rust and Downey mildew, it will not be affected too long. It becomes easy to get rid of all agressions by cleaning well your growing area between harvests. Control also may be obtained by integrating various management practices, maintaining proper ventilation and lower relative humidity (in greenhouse conditions), balanced fertilizer application, and as we just said, crop rotation. Our experience with Hon Tsaï Tai is rather new but it is a total success, we highly recommend it to anyone who would like to test it. It can also be coupled with other Chinese vegetable like Pak Choy, cabbage, chard, etc. They are an excellent complement and grow well together. For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.
Flora Series FloraGro, FloraMicro, FloraBloom
Diamond Nectar, pH Down, pH Up, pH Test Kit
ml / 10 L
EC
FloraGro
FloraMicro
FloraBloom
Diamond Nectar
Seedlings
0.3 – 0.6
1
1
1
20
Vegetative
1.6 – 1.8
2,5
1,5
1
20
1.8
2,5
1,5
1,25
20
Flowering & fruiting
pH
5.5 6.5
* In soil use half this concentration ** Shake well before using. Our nutrients are highly concentrated, do not mix undiluted. To avoid salt precipitation, always rinse your measuring cup between each Flora component. *** Diamond Nectar increases the nutrient uptake capacity of plants, and results in better diet. DN and other products in our line are pending certification by Russian administration. Ref http://myfolia.com/plants/1173-chinese-cabbage-brassica-rapa-chinensis-group/varieties/132795-hon-tsai-tai http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/agriculture-and-food/horticulture/vegetables/vegetables-a-z/chinese-flowering-cabbage-choysum For more information and product support, don’t hesitate to contact our distributor in Russia, www.growtrade.ru, or contact us directly at info@eurohydro.com Also read “Hydroponics for Everybody” by William Texier. A special chapter on “biopponics” will give you more details.. The Russian version is already available.