Kale vs Bok Choy

[Terry Coombs]

Can kale be subbed in stirfry for bok choy ? I have kale seeds , but have never grown it . I'm getting my plan together for this year's garden , with an emphasis on staples such as corn , beans , tomatoes , etc , but I'd like to try some new stuff . I see from looking online that kale and bok are both brassicas , and wondered how different they would be in chinese cooking . I'll be tryin' to grow lettuce again , but I think I'll try something besides black seeded simpson , never have been happy with the lettuce I've grown . Might even try a headed variety this year . Also going to attempt some spinach , we really like it in salads . Hmm , kale might be good in salad too ... I'll be doubling the garden space this year , since I'm here full time now and I just filed for retirement . I told my wife I'm going to become a "Gentleman Farmer" , she like to fell out laughing at me ... but hey , we've got "livestock" , and I'll be growing stuff , so what's so funny ?

[David Hare-Scott]

Yes but it cooks quicker, put it in near the end.

I have kale seeds , but

Fairly similar in flavour depending on which cultivars you grow. Bok Choy leaves cook as fast as kale but the stems take longer than leaves. I don't like the stems of kale much so I cut them out but they are edible, just more woody than bok choy. Kale has the advantage of being biennial and you can keep cutting and it will come again.

It is, particularly the young leaves, it can get a bit tough if they get old.

Nothing funny at all. Start some wine grapes and you will have all the main food groups.

D

[Terry Coombs]

Do Muscadines and fox grapes count ? We've got musc's all over this piece of land , and I've been planning to train some to trellisses . Our neighbor made some jelly and wine from some last fall . The jelly is awesome , the wine is still aging .

[Bloke Down The Pub]

In my experience kale is more bitter than bok choy, although not so bitter that it is unpalatable. This could be the type of kale I have grown (Curly Kale) and also I tend to wait until it has nice large leaves, so probably miss out on the young leaves. My wife and the kids when they were at home used to love it baked in to chips/crisps.

"Gentleman Farmer" maybe it was the green wellingtons that had her laughing.

Mike

[Terry Coombs]

Actually I was wearing motorcycle boots when I said that ... but no black leather and the only chain was the one on my wallet .

[natp]

Probably, but they have different textures. Doesn't bok choy resemble celery?

I tried growing pole beans last year but they died. I'm going to try again this year. The bush beans grow well but picking them has become arduous.

I have also been trying a Chinese food motif: garlic, kohlrabi in lieu of water chestnut, mung beans (used to make sprouts), green onions, and sweet corn picked at the "baby" stage. Also morel mushrooms from the woods.

Leaf lettuce grows well for me but I'm not fond of it. Head lettuce and spinach are intolerant of warm (not even hot) weather. I tried growing Iceberg and it bolted (formed a seed stalk) almost immediately. I had good luck growing spinach in the basement in winter; in a plastic tote full of dirt with a shop light hanging over it.

[David Hare-Scott]

They are not very similar as they have different families, flavour and habit. Celery has much more stalk in proportion to leaves than most asian brassicas.

Of course we may have trouble agreeing on what is bok choy, there are many Asian brassicas such as bok choy, pak choy, choy sum, een choy, wong buk, the list goes on. Most are varieties of Brassica rapa. Look here for details.

Never underestimate the capacity of people to find different names for the same thing or the same name for different things. As well there is the tendency for the varieties to cross pollinate, so you could end up with your own cultivar if you grow several kinds near each other.

D

[Terry Coombs]

No no no , the chickens are great ! We're averaging 3-5 eggs daily from 7 hens , which is great for this time of year . Those eggs buy good will from the neighbors and make my dog love me even more and come summer they'll be a source of income . The first 3 were named by my g-kids , I named the 4 new ones ... Sunday Dinner , Chicken & Dumplings , Chicken soup , you get the idea . When they quit laying , into the freezer they'll go and new ones will take their place .

[David Hare-Scott]

I agree. I love having fresh eggs and I like having them around even when they are naughty and scratch where they shoudn't.

D

[David Hare-Scott]

Wife & I buy eggs

You can't eat something with a name.

D

[Terry Coombs]

That was the grandkids idea ... they used names like Ariel You'll notice I was being kinda food-oriented ... and joking . Kinda like last fall when I told them I was out to put Bambi's daddy in my freezer