Collecting and saving bok choy seeds is easy to do and you’ll have plenty of seeds to plant the following year.
In this article I’ll show you step by step how to collect and save bok choy seeds from your garden.
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Bok choy, also known as Pak choy or Chinese white cabbage, is part of the cruciferous family of vegetables, which also includes broccoli, cauliflower and kale.
There are many different types of bok choy including large bok choy, Shanghai baby bok choy and dwarf bok choy, and the process of collecting and saving the seeds is the same for all varieties.
Collecting bok choy seeds is a great way to save money, and you can grow your favorite varieties every year without ever needing to buy more seeds.
You can also share some of the seeds with your gardening friends or contribute to a seed bank in your local area.
How does bok choy produce seeds
Bok choy plants begin to bolt (go to seed) when the weather gets hot.
They produce tall flower stems that can grow up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall, with an abundance of small yellow flowers.
The flowers attract plenty of bees and other pollinating insects and they look quite pretty in the garden.
The flowers only stay on the plant for a short time and then they fall off.
After the flowers fall off you’ll notice long green seed pods beginning to form.
If you’ve had lots of pollinators visiting your garden you’ll have an abundance of seed pods.
Each bok choy plant will produce hundreds of seeds so you only need to allow one or two plants to go to seed.
You can leave the plants in the garden to dry out completely or cut them off at the base and hang them up in your garage to allow them to dry out.
When to harvest bok choy seeds
As the pods begin to mature you’ll be able to see the tiny seeds through the seed pod.
Each seed pod is about an inch (2.5 cm) in length and they contain up to ten seeds.
You’ll know it’s time to harvest bok choy seeds when the seed pods are completely dried out.
Open one of the pods and if the seeds are black, then they’re ready to harvest.
Pick the seed pods off the plant and place them in a small bowl or container.
Gently break the seed pods apart and you’ll be able to collect hundreds of small seeds.
Place the seeds in a paper bag or envelope and label it with the date and variety of bok choy.
Store the seeds in a cool and dry place until it’s time to plant them in your garden.
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So there are my tips for collecting bok choy seeds from your garden.
Harvesting bok choy seeds is very easy once you know how to do it and you’ll never need to buy bok choy seeds again.
Have you tried collecting seeds from your bok choy plants? Let me know in the comments below.
Are you on Pinterest? I have boards dedicated to Seed Saving and Vegetable Gardening that you may enjoy. You can also find me on Facebook.