Documentary started 2/19/25, updated 4/9/26, and ended (TBD) in Oviedo, Florida, USA, Zone 10A.
Documentary Outline:
- What are Chinese cabbage?
- Varieties/Cultivars of Chinese cabbage
- Reviewing the Chinese cabbage varieties
- General growing information
- Recipes: available on my blog site. Search keyword is “cabbage”
- Seeds for sale: I sell Chinese cabbage seeds for $1 per packet from my seeds for sale inventory list.
What are Chinese cabbages?
Chinese cabbage is a type of vegetable that resembles a napa cabbage which comes in many varieties.
Varieties of Chinese cabbages
There are so many Chinese cabbage varieties. Here are the varieties I have grown or will grow in my garden to review. I wish the seed major companies would indicate the parentage of the hybridized varieties. I tested a few and detest any Chinese cabbage varieties that have a spicy taste like mustard greens.
- CC1. Qingdao Express Wawacai F1 Chinese cabbage (my favorite)
- CC2. Kogane Golden Chinese cabbage
- CC3. Yellow Heart Chinese cabbage – to be tested
- dislike: Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage
- dislike: China Coast F1 Chinese cabbage
- detest: Red Trumpet F1 Chinese cabbage
I will showcase the varieties I love first and the varieties that I disliked and detested.
CC1. Qingdao Express Wawacai F1: Love
- Description: Qingdao Express Wawacai F1 is my favorite Chinese cabbage to grow every year. Qingdao Express Wawacai F1 Chinese cabbages have high germination rate and fast growing. It’s compacted size and slow bolting allows me to harvest the leaves multiple times. The leaves are tender and sweet making it great on stir fry and soups, especially perfect for hot pots.
- Germination rate tested: High, tested in January 2026
- Days to maturity:
- Result: My kids and I love this variety!
CC2. Kogane Golden Chinese Cabbage
- Description:
- Germination rate tested:
- Days to maturity:
- Result:
Insert image & review
CC3. Yellow Heart Chinese cabbage – to be tested
- Description:
- Germination rate tested:
- Days to maturity:
- Result:
- Seed source: Yellow Heart Chinese cabbage from Pan Asia Heirloom on Etsy. This grows in temperature between 55 to 80F degrees with a 45 days to maturity. I am offering 20 seeds for $1 on my seed inventory list.
CC4. Haku F1 Chinese cabbage – to be tested
- Description:
- Germination rate tested:
- Days to maturity:
- Result:
Dislike: Tokyo Bekana Chinese Cabbage
- Description: Tokyo Bekana chinese cabbage is described as heat-tolerant. I offer 1/4th teaspoon of seeds (100+ seeds) in my $1 Seed Inventory List. Seeds can also be purchased from Pan Asia Heirloom on Etsy. It’s a popular and common Chinese cabbage many gardeners prefer growing for its 30 days to maturity or harvest time. My family do not like to eat variety because it is too fibrous, chewy, and dull bland. Tokyo Bekana lacks the sweetness compared to the napa type Chinese cabbages. It bolts quickly so I have to repeatedly sow the seeds for to harvest.
- Germination rate tested:
- Days to maturity:
- Result: Dislike
insert image
Dislike: China Coast F1 Chinese Cabbage
- Description: China Coast F1 Chinese cabbage was tested in February 2025. I aborted this cabbage variety just because there are fuzzy hair (like a fuzzy melon) under the leaves. It’s not spiky, but not gentle to the touch. Seeds were purchased from Urban Farmer online seed company. It would have been helpful if their description mentioned about the hairy fuzz under the foliage. What a disappointment.
- Germination rate tested: I don’t care anymore.
- Days to maturity: I don’t care anymore.
- Result: Detest; aborted
Detest: Red Trumpet F1 Chinese Cabbage
- Description: This is the last picture of the Red Trumpet hybrid Chinese cabbage coming from me. It looked beautiful on Johnny’s Selected Seeds Company website. It attracted so many pests and especially aphids. It must have been crossed with some kind of mustard because it’s not anything like a tender sweet napa cabbage type. The back side of the leaves near the base has a light hairy fuzz.
- Germination rate tested: I don’t care.
- Days to maturity: I don’t care.
- Result: Detest; aborted
Growing Chinese Cabbages
Sowing seeds, thinning seedlings, and transplanting
Chinese cabbages are grown from seeds and a very-cold hardy vegetable. Here in Oviedo, Florida zone 10A, it grows best from October through March for me. I sow two to four seeds in a 4-inch seedling pot. Seeds germinates within three to four days. I can thin the seedlings are transplant all the seedlings as soon it has two sets of true leaves without any problem.
I tested transplanting seedlings in the ground, in large 25-gallon pots with my pepper plant and compost matter, in 12-inch raised beds, in elevated Vego Garden beds, and in 2-gallon Gro Pro square pots. The most healthy Chinese cabbages seem to do best in the 2-gallon Gro Pro pots.
The seedlings planted on ground has the most pest problems. The Chinese cabbages grown in my raised beds sometimes have cabbage worms and sometimes do not.
I tested some Chinese cabbages in my Vego Garden elevated bed. Due to poor drainage, the Chinese cabbages ended up with too much watering leading to root rot, a common problem for cabbages with over watering.
(insert CC with root rot image)
Recipes
Yes! I do have recipes that uses Chinese cabbages! Search with keywords “napa cabbage” on my website.
images
