Tah Tsai Rosette pak choi - Brassica rapa var. rosularis

The Tatsoi (Tah Tsai) Chinese cabbage is a Asian cabbage for full winter, prized for its tight rosettes of dark green leaves, very tender and crunchy. Compact and fast-growing, it easily fills vegetable beds when most summer vegetables have disappeared. Easy to grow, this Chinese cabbage is suitable for all amateur gardeners who enjoy tasty greens for autumn and winter dishes. Its mild, slightly peppery flavour makes it an excellent leaf vegetable for mixed salads, stir-fries and Asian soups.

Botanically, Tatsoi belongs to the species Brassica rapa, in the Brassicaceae family, the large family of cabbages, turnips, rapeseed and mustards. This species, known by names such as cultivated turnip, field cabbage or Chinese cabbage depending on the form, is native to a wide Eurasian zone.
It is a biennial plant grown as an annual for its foliage: it forms its rosette in the first year, then, if left in place, it bolts and flowers the following spring. Tatsoi is an ancient variety, cultivated for centuries in East Asia, likely in China as early as the 6th century, before spreading to Korea and then Japan. It is a traditional, more or less stable type, now available in a few selections such as the 'Spoon' or 'Green Coin' forms.

The plant develops a very low rosette, often flat against the ground, which naturally protects the heart from cold and wind. A well-grown rosette reaches 15 to 20 cm in height and 25 to 30 cm in diameter. The leaves, numerous, thick and glossy, are spoon-shaped, more or less blistered, of an intense dark green with prominent veins. Measuring 10 to 15 cm long, they are borne on a short petiole, white to pale green, somewhat fleshy. Young leaves can be harvested from 30 days after sowing, and the entire rosette between 40 and 50 days. Tatsoi self-seeds easily if plants are left to flower and set seed. In the second year or at the end of the crop, an upright flower stalk develops from the centre of the rosette. It bears clusters of small yellow flowers typical of crucifers, with four cross-shaped petals, about 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter, very popular with insects. It is a hardy vegetable: well-established foliage can withstand temperatures down to –7 °C, or even lower under a cloche or a light blanket of snow. In some regions of China and Japan, the rosette was traditionally harvested from under the snow.

In the kitchen, this cabbage can be eaten both raw and cooked: in salads, quickly stir-fried, in soups or gratins.

In the vegetable garden, growing Rosette Cabbage is a little more delicate than classic cabbages, as it requires more warmth, but it shares the same requirements: deep soil, excellent manure and regular moisture. It is planted in full sun. Not very hardy, Chinese Cabbages are vegetables for late summer and early winter only.

Harvest: The leaves of rosette cabbage are harvested as needed.

Storage: They keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

The Gardener's Tip: To limit watering, we advise you, once the young plants are well established, to mulch the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which helps the soil retain moisture, also reduces weeding.

In the garden, Tatsoi is a versatile small leaf cabbage. It finds a place in a family vegetable plot, a kitchen garden, a square-foot garden, an urban garden or balcony, or a market garden micro-farm. It is planted at the edge of beds, between taller crops, or as a filler after summer harvests. It grows very well under cloches, cold frames or fleece, but also in large pots and containers on a terrace. It can be combined with other autumn and winter salads to create colourful mesclun mixes: for example with Oak Leaf Lettuce 'Eluarde', with its red-bronze leaves, Mizuna early and a Chinese cabbage Pé-tsaï such as ‘Granaat’.