Pak Choi Flea Beetle

[amphbisson]

I am trying Pak Choi for the first time, and I'm having a little trouble. The leaf growth is good, but they are bolting rather fast. I understand this is to do with it being too light and warm, and perhaps were sown a little early (mid July I think). But more annoyingly, I think the Flea Beetle have got to them. They are all peppered with tiny munch holes, with no sign of any animal life on or near them. I had the same trouble on my rocket earlier this year, which I then made into a very successful pesto. It hasn't affected anything else - lettuces, sprouting brocolli, kale, spinach and kohl rabi (the last three are right next to the Pak Choi). I'm firstly not sure what to make of it, and how to get rid of it, and secondly whether I should be eating it. They have by no means destroyed the plants, and I read somewhere that if they don't destroy the seedlings, then a reasonable yield can be expected. I'm not really sure what that means in terms of the safety of eating them. If I wash them thoroughly and am stir frying, are they safe (if not very beautiful) to eat? We had some last night, and stomachs seem fine today....but....was that horribly foolish? Might I have spread some evil parastic disease through my partner and my own digestive system?!

[Green Aura]

I'd eat them, especially if I'd grown them. But that might not be any indication of safety - my constitution is fairly robust

[Jandra]

I've eaten many a holey vegetable and... oh, well, perhaps you shouldn't, after all...

T.b.h. I can't imagine what harm it could do. I don't blame my many imperfections on the flea beetles, caterpillars and snails, anyway.

Bon apetit,
Jandra

[Millymollymandy]

Ooooh thanks very much for reminding me - it's rocket and radish sowing time!!! Yup flea beatles are a nightmare here so I can't grow any nice brassicas whatsoever before about mid August/September. Oh I'm so looking forward to those two veg.

Don't worry about holes, we're all still alive to tell the tale.

[Durgan]

Flea beetles like Pak Choy even more than radishes. Next year I am going to try a fine net over my Pak Choy plants. It does produce wonderfully when planted very early in the Spring, but is rather poor if planted too late, since it bolts quickly in hot weather. Seedlings do better than planting the seed directly, but both will produce if one can beat the flea beetle. The same applies to Bok Choy, which is slightly bitter.


Pak Choy is a wonderful vegetable and all those holes in the leaves destroy the appearance. There is absolutely no danger in eating the ugly leaves, except they do appear repulsive.

[Mrs Moustoir]

Flea beetle seems to have been exceptional bad this year here - has anyone else found this? They are usually all gone by the end of July but seem to have have hung around much longer.

Good news is that we haven't had any problems with the brassica aphids (woolly aphids are they called?) - must be due to the increased ladybird population.

[amphbisson]

Thank you all! I have a very gung-ho approach to food in general - much to my partner's disapproval - which generally involves scraping off the mould and getting stuck in . But after a diagnosis of blastocystis hominis on return from Africa, I now get a bit paranoid after the event! But everyone's response is very encouraging, and I will stir fry to my heart's content. B*gger the little blighters!

[dave45]

My Pak Choi all bolted pretty quickly too - had to chuck most of them... any hints on how to deal with this... apart from planting a seed a day to get continuity..

[Millymollymandy]

That's about all you can do Dave, I have to keep on sowing lettuce and coriander for the same reasons. Thankfully haven't been without lettuce all summer although have had very few properly hearted cos lettuce as they bolt quicker than others.

[grahamhobbs]

MMM, try Chartwell cos lettuce, for me it seems to do better than most in not bolting. It's a medium size cos, sweet tasting.

[Millymollymandy]

I'll look out for it as I have to do an online seed order this winter. Here in France there is the choice of Blonde Maraichere or Blonde Maraichere.

[dave45]

at least pak Choi seed is easy to save if you let the bolted plants go to seed...