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Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
  • Tokyo Bekana
Tokyo Bekana

Brassica rapa
$4.50
Description

We first learned about this from a Virginia-based gardening blog, in our quest to find a diversity of greens that grow well here. We now love Tokyo Bekana so much that we grow it every year, and it's become a household name among local gardeners, who also adore this plant for it's ease of growth, abundant greens, and versatile uses. 

The pale green, lettuce-like leaves of this baby Chinese cabbage are sweet and mild, never bitter or spicy. They are great in salad mixes, make a wonderful slaw, and can be bunched and used like a Chinese cabbage. You can pretty much sub this for lettuce and it's surely more nutritious since brassicas are nutritional powerhouses. They can be harvested quickly as young baby greens, or up till when they form very loose heads. These are a staple in our Florida cool season gardens!
Product details
  • 100 seeds
  • 45 days to harvest
  • Seeds grown in Working Food gardens at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida
How to grow

Brassicas do best in cooler weather, although many varieties can easily handle the warm spells we often get during Florida winters. In North Florida, you can plant brassicas anytime from August through February, depending on the crop and the weather.

Direct sow or transplant seedlings ¼ inch deep or less, with plants spaced about 10–18 inches apart. Brassicas are generally heavy feeders and will grow best in fertile, healthy soil. Add compost or other organic fertilizers as needed, keep the soil covered with a thick layer of leafy mulch, and water regularly during extended dry periods.

Many brassicas can be harvested leaf-by-leaf throughout the season. Pick the larger outer leaves while leaving the younger leaves growing in the center, and the plant can continue producing for quite a long time. Some varieties can also be harvested as a whole plant and may re-grow after cutting.

If you eat a lot of brassicas, consider succession planting—starting new seeds or transplants several times throughout the growing season. This keeps a steady supply of young, productive plants coming along as older plants begin to slow down.
How to save seeds

Brassicas are very easy to save seed from, but there’s a catch: they take a long time to mature for seed—up to 7 months! This is much longer than the quick harvest time we’re used to with their leafy greens. During this long growing period, plants still need regular care and can become more susceptible to insects and disease. Brassicas can also become very tall and heavy with seed pods, so staking may be necessary to keep plants upright and prevent them from flopping over.

Brassicas are highly out-crossing, meaning they naturally prefer to cross-pollinate with other plants rather than pollinating themselves. Having many plants flowering at the same time helps maintain good genetic diversity. While you can save seed from just a few plants for a season or two, consistently saving seed from a small population can lead to inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity over time, which can affect the health and resilience of your crop.

Brassicas within the same species can cross-pollinate if they are flowering at the same time. Brassica rapa is a diverse group of vegetables and if you are growing more than one type and they flower at the same time, they will most certainly cross. This is only a concern if you are attempting to preserve a specific variety.

After flowering and pollination, small green seed pods will form and gradually swell, dry, and turn brown. Ideally, let the pods mature and dry on the plant for as long as possible, provided they aren’t getting excessively rained on or developing mold. If wet weather threatens your seed crop, harvest earlier by cutting the seed-bearing stems, or the entire plant, and bring them indoors to finish maturing and drying.

For long-term seed saving, we recommend having at least 20 plants flowering when you collect seed. More is even better! When growing specifically for seed, we often grow 80–200+ plants to maintain a broad and healthy gene pool.

If growing that many plants isn't practical for your garden, don't worry! You can simply let a few plants flower and provide a valuable food source for bees and other pollinators, then cut them back once they're finished flowering.

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