vegetable · leafy green

Asian Greens - Red Tatsoi

A fast cool-season green with reddish-purple, spoon-shaped leaves and a mild mustard bite. Pick the outer leaves young and one plant keeps producing for weeks.

Asian Greens - Red Tatsoi seedling
Seedling
Mature Asian Greens - Red Tatsoi
Ready to pick
Thrives
12–18°C
Water
Medium
Difficulty
Beginner
Ready in
21–45  days
Spacing
20cm apart
Containers
Yes

How to plant it

  • Plant 20cm apart. It grows as a flat rosette and spreads wider than it looks like it is going to.
  • Full sun is fine, but it is happier with a bit of afternoon shade once the weather warms up. This is a cool-season green and it knows it.
  • Keep the soil moist. Tatsoi grown dry goes tough, and the mild mustard flavour turns into something harsher.
  • Start picking outer leaves from about three weeks for salads. Take from the outside and leave the centre alone, and one plant keeps going for weeks.
  • Or leave it to fill out into a full rosette at around six weeks, and use the bigger leaves for stir-fries and soups.
  • Plant it near your spring onions, onions or garlic. The smell helps throw the cabbage-family pests that would otherwise come looking for it.