Skip to main content
The Morning Star Shop
Understanding the world’s most common vegetable

MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down

(L to R) Wong Boks and a Chinese cabbage and tofu soup Pics (L to R): Bayartai/CC and NeoBatfreak/CC

Gardening

THE British name, Chinese cabbage, is a bit too generic and the US name, Napa cabbage, is rather too specific, so perhaps we should go with Wong Bok, which is how it’s often listed in seed catalogues these days.

We all know it when we see it, anyway: a stout, tightly-packed, barrel-shaped head of what looks like a cross between lettuce and cabbage, in shades of pale green, white and sometimes yellow. It’s used in this country as both lettuce and cabbage, quite apart from its indispensable role in so many East Asian dishes.

The most common reason for failure with what is, admittedly, never the easiest veg to grow, is sowing it in the spring, as you would with a western cabbage.

Wong Bok will tend to bolt, concentrating its energies on seed production rather than building up the bits we like to eat, in the event of hot weather, cold weather, or dry weather.

Given that it is, by weight, one of the world’s most common vegetables, it’s pretty fussy about its conditions.

To avoid bolting, the seeds are best sown in July and August, when summer has passed its mid-point, so that by the time the plants are in their main growing phase the days will be a little cooler but the nights will still be warm.

Chinese cabbage will generally tolerate light autumn frost, and doesn’t mind growing in partial shade.

It can be sown in situ, but is more reliable if started in modules for planting out about four to six weeks later.

During a rainy spell, slugs and snails will feast on direct-sown seedlings. Either way, you’re aiming for a final spacing between the plants of around 12 inches (30 cm).

Very heavy or very light soils are no use at all for this crop. If that’s all you’ve got available, you'll be better off planting it in large pots of multi-purpose compost.

In the ground, it needs a rich, deep soil, with good drainage, containing plenty of organic matter, such as garden compost or manure.

Above all, the key to success with Wong Bok is stopping it drying out. It’s a fairly fast-growing vegetable, usually ready for harvest roughly 10 weeks after sowing, so it must have constant moisture to keep it going at that rate.

Its roots are unhelpfully shallow, meaning it can dry out quickly, so the old motto of watering “little and often” applies. The simplest rule to follow is to water frequently enough that the soil around the plant is never dry.

Mulching around the cabbages, to prevent evaporation, will help a lot.

I hope I’m not putting you off this tasty, crunchy, versatile vegetable, but I have to mention that birds, caterpillars and flea beetles can also cause problems. The only answer, if so, is to cover the plants in horticultural fleece or similar.

Wong Bok is ready to harvest when the “barrel” feels solid when squeezed quite firmly with both hands.

 

 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
HISTORY MADE: A plaque at the Old Bailey dedicated to the case of William Penn and William Mead — and the jury who acted on their conscience
Features / 2 September 2025
2 September 2025

The heroism of the jury who defied prison and starvation conditions secured the absolute right of juries to deliver verdicts based on conscience — a convention which is now under attack, writes MAT COWARD

CAUSE AND EFFECT: Maturing apples and and apple pie / pics: (L to R) George Chernilevsky and Roozitaa both CC
Gardening / 16 August 2025
16 August 2025

As apple trees blossom to excess it remains to be seen if an abundance of fruit will follow. MAT COWARD has a few tips to see you through a nervy time
 

‘SEDITION AND BLASPHEMY’: (L to R) Blackfriars Rotunda, 1820 - view from the top of the Albion Mills; a political rowdiness / Pic (L to R): Frederick Birnie; Old and New London both Public domain
Politics / 15 August 2025
15 August 2025

While an as-yet-unnamed new left party struggles to be born, MAT COWARD looks at some of the wild and wonderful names of workers’ organisations past that have been lost to time

crime
Crime Fiction / 12 August 2025
12 August 2025

Timeloop murder, trad family MomBomb, Sicilian crime pages and Craven praise

Similar stories
YUMMY: (L to R) Winter squash; Roasted delicata squash. Pic: (L to R) Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)/Chanticleer Garden/CC and Sarah Stierch/CC
Features / 17 May 2025
17 May 2025

MAT COWARD rises over such semantics to offer step by step, fool-proof cultivating tips

ARTICHOKES GALORE: (L to R) Growing in a allotment and cooke
Gardening / 3 January 2025
3 January 2025
Although there’s not much growing in the garden in January, globe artichokes are worth a try if you follow these tips from MAT COWARD
Garlic chives on a plate
Gardening / 9 November 2024
9 November 2024
MAT COWARD declares this plant to be one that ‘everyone should grow’
Gardening / 21 September 2024
21 September 2024
Despite being tasty and nutritious, this root veg did not fit into the capitalist mould, so never won the popularity of the more durable potato, writes MAT COWARD