Choi Sum Seeds — Green 70 D Improved

Growing Guide for Pakistan

• Sowing time: Punjab plains (Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan) late September to February; Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar September to January; Karachi and coastal Sindh October to December; Murree, Swat and Quetta February to April. Fast enough to sow every two to three weeks right through winter.
• Method: Sow 6 mm deep, thinly — about ten to twelve seeds per 30 cm of row.
• Germination: Five to ten days in warm soil.
• Spacing: Rows 30–45 cm apart. Little or no thinning needed.
• Harvest: Cut the central stem with its bud cluster at 42 days, about 15 cm long. Side shoots follow.
• Sun and water: Full sun and steady moisture. Feed lightly after the first cut to push the side shoots.

Cut it before it flowers

The whole skill with choi sum is timing. Harvest when the buds are still tight or just cracking open — that is when the stem is sweetest. Leave it a few days too long and the stem turns fibrous and the flavour goes flat.

Keeps cutting

Because it regrows from the base after each cut, a short row gives a steady supply rather than one glut. Rated by the breeder for both cold and heat, so it keeps producing through the swings of a Punjab winter.

What is in the packet

50 seeds, packed for The Garden by Chanan Din. Bred by Johnny's Selected Seeds, USA and imported for the Pakistani season. Non-GMO. Every lot is germination-tested in Lahore before it goes on sale.

New to seed starting? Read what to sow in September in Pakistan and why your seeds are not germinating first.

Germination-tested in Lahore before it reaches you, from a seed house trading since 1932.