Tatsoi Cultivation Guide

By Toni Busquets

October 20, 2022

Tatsoi cultivation guide. This rare Brassica is native to Japan, where it has been cultivated since 500 AD. This variety is annual and low growing with small spoon-shaped leaves. It is also known as spoon mustard, spinach mustard or bok choy rosette, of which it is a close relative.

The plant resembles that of spinach, however, the stems and veins are white and sweet. The plant with its distinctive spoon-shaped green leaves is not characterized by being a very tall plant, but it does grow very wide. These small plants thrive in cold climates. It can even withstand freezing temperatures and can be harvested in snow.

WHEN AND HOW TO SOW

Tatsoi is cultivated in the cold seasons of the year, so autumn and winter are the ideal times for its cultivation. It is also a plant that in 45 days is ready to be harvested, being very suitable to be cultivated in a staggered way.

As for how to plant it is very simple. We can do it in two ways, either in seedbed or directly to the soil. Here each one chooses how to do it. The tatsoi likes loose, well drained and fertilized soils. Besides, the more sun we can give it, the better and faster it will grow.

IRRIGATION IN THE TATSOI CULTIVATION GUIDE

Being a plant that is grown in cold seasons, if we have constant rainfall, with a couple of waterings a week or 3 we will have enough for the plant to thrive without problems. If we see that the soil or substrate is very wet, we will stop watering that day or days.

PLANT PRUNING

In the tatsoi cultivation guide, rather than talking about pruning, we are going to talk about the maintenance of this plant. If we see that the outer leaves are getting dull we can remove them without any problem. We can even consume it little by little, collecting the outer leaves to consume them.

HOW AND WHEN TO HARVEST TATSOI

As I mentioned before in the cultivation of tatsoi we can harvest or collect it in different ways. We can do it little by little, consuming the outside hours. We can also harvest it around week 3-4 to consume the plant as a tender vegetable, or wait until the end of its cycle around 7 weeks and harvest it.

As for how it is very simple, we just have to cut the stem and we are ready to consume this Asian wonder in our cooked dishes or salads.

MOST COMMON DISEASES AND PESTS IN THE TATSOI CROP

Here as always we will tell you which are the most common pests and diseases in the cultivation of Tatsoi. Being a cold climate plant, it is a plant that is usually quite free of pests and diseases, even so, being a vegetable with a very tender and tasty leaf, it is a plant that… They love bugs and can be quite harmful.