In addition to the daikon radish and radicchio trials, I wanted to incorporate two more of my favorite crops: arugula and pak choi (bok choy). Not only are these two crops tasty, diverse, and popular culinary staples, they have a much quicker rate to maturity than that of daikon or radicchio; arugula can mature in up to 25-35 days and pak choi in approx. 45 days. My plan for these two crops is to have them seeded on a 10 day cycle, allowing me to have a steady flow of these crops for various tasting trials with the Terrior/Merior program at Evergreen State College.

Pak Choi: This crop, more commonly known as bok choy, has always fascinated me. The petiole of a pak choi leaf being rigid and juicy while the leaf, tender and flavorful. The size of a pok choi plant can range from 5 inches tall to 20 inches tall and come in many different shapes, as well as colors. There are varieties of pok choi that are all green, some that are purple, and commonly found is the white stem/green leaf varieties that are commonly sold in grocery stores. For my own experiment, I chose 6 different varieties that range in size and color configuration. I am curious to see how these crops handle late season climatic changes as well as heavy shading from the surrounding forest as the sun begins to drop lower on the horizon. It will be interesting to see how the differences in shape, size and color coincide with the flavor profile once these reach the tasting trials. Varieties chosen: Joi Choi, Yoshi, Mei Qing, WinWin, Li Ren, and Tonko.

Arugula: To this day, arugula remains to be one of my favorite leafy greens. This crop, while rather easy to grow, takes any salad or salad mix to the next level. Arugula commonly has a peppery flavor and often has a ‘sharp bite’ once being initially bitten into, but I am always surprised at the rather drastic differences in flavor from variety to variety. In addition to differences in flavor, the leaf shape of arugula can be toothed, lobed or simple.

Aside from the tasting trials, I will be watching the arugula for signs of bolting (during what summer temperatures we have left) and also how the varieties react to shade stress. Varieties chosen: Roquette, Surrey, Uber, Astro.