A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 bok choy

Hello, fellow veggie-fans
I'm growing bok choy for the first time (baby) and have blooms, (which for some odd reason, I wasn't expecting!) I immediately thought of rhubarb, which you remove the blooms from, among others and am wondering if I should remove the blooms or let them go? I've never seen any signs of leftover blooms when I've bought them in the market. Any ideas? They're doing well, but not to the point of harvesting sooo....?
Sorry, I don't want to be boring but don't know much about these graemlin thingamabobbies so think I'll keep it graemlin-free this point..!

I know nothing about bok choy except I like it.

Found: Linky "Your question about whether the flowers are edible is interesting, and apparently they are, even if they are a sign of Bok Choy that has become too old." I guess, harvest and enjoy!

Here's a link to oriental vegetables, Bok Choy in particular.

I think if Bok Choy has flowers then it has bolted to seed. Like lettuce does when it bolts. That usually happens to lettuce because it's too hot i believe. I'm not sure about this but it might be an angle to look at.

Parrothead,

Welcome to the forum. Longy is correct. If you have flowers then the bok choy is past it's prime. It is part of the Brassica group and Cruciferae (cabbage) family. Like cabbages they like to grow in cool weather. Too hot and they will get bitter and bolt (start producing flowers and seed). You can try to eat them, but they will probably be tougher and more bitter than what you are used to.

They are no longer babies. They've moved onto making their own babies. You want to pick them when they are in their baby stage. They are crisp, sweet, and the leaves are tight. Once the leaves start spacing apart, the plant is going to produce a flower stalk.

Thanx, everyone for the tips. I think it must have been a four day hot spell we had, when the bok choy started blooming, before they even had developed more than a couple of leaves. Since then they've started to grow like bandits, and have shot right up, though so guess I'll create mulch and start over. I appreciate the advice, tho.

From Washington [WSU Extension-Clark County Master Gardener]: