Asian Greens — How to Grow Asian Greens in Australia

☀️ Sun

Part Shade

💧 Water

Medium

↔ Spacing

25cm apart

↕ Height

Up to 30cm

📅 Harvest

35 days

Growing Guide

Asian greens perform best during cooler growing seasons across Australia. In temperate and cool-temperate zones, sow direct from autumn through to early spring (March to October). In subtropical regions, restrict sowing to autumn and winter (April to August) to avoid bolting in heat. In Mediterranean climates, autumn and winter sowings (March to August) produce the finest harvests.

Soil preparation: Dig through aged compost and well-rotted manure to a depth of 20–30cm. Asian greens prefer a slightly acidic to neutral pH of 6.0–7.0. Rake beds smooth and fine for good seed-to-soil contact.

Sowing: Sow seeds direct at 5mm depth, spacing rows 20–30cm apart. Thin seedlings to 15–20cm spacings once established. Alternatively, raise seedlings in trays and transplant at four weeks.

Watering: Keep soil consistently moist but never waterlogged. Water at the base of plants in the morning, aiming for 2–3 times per week. Mulch around plants to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature.

Feeding: Apply a liquid fertiliser fortnightly once seedlings are established to support rapid leafy growth.

Harvest: Begin harvesting outer leaves once plants reach 15cm height, or cut the entire head 2–3cm above the soil to encourage regrowth. Most varieties will reshoot two to three times, extending your harvest window considerably.

🤝 Good Companions

Asian greens grow beautifully alongside carrots spring onions celery and nasturtiums — carrots and spring onions help deter aphids and root flies while nasturtiums act as a sacrificial trap crop drawing aphids away from your brassicas.

❌ Avoid Planting With

Avoid planting Asian greens near tomatoes capsicum or strawberries as these crops compete for similar nutrients and can inhibit growth; also keep them well separated from other brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower to reduce the risk of shared pest and disease buildup particularly cabbage white butterfly and clubroot.

🐛 Pests & Diseases

The most common pests in Australian gardens are cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, aphids, and slugs — cover crops with fine insect mesh as the primary defence, hand-pick caterpillars, and apply a diluted neem oil spray for aphid infestations. Slugs and snails can be managed with iron-based pellets or crushed eggshells around the base of plants. Clubroot fungus can be a problem in acidic, poorly drained soils — improve drainage, lime to raise soil pH, and practise a four-year crop rotation to prevent recurrence.

🌱 Fertilising

Apply a balanced, nitrogen-rich fertiliser such as fish emulsion or a liquid seaweed and compost tea blend every two weeks from seedling establishment through to harvest to support rapid, lush leaf production. In Australian conditions, a granular organic fertiliser worked into the bed at planting, followed by fortnightly liquid feeds, provides the sustained nutrition these fast-growing greens demand.

✂️ Pruning & Training

Asian greens require no traditional pruning, but regularly harvesting outer leaves encourages fresh central growth and prevents the plant from directing energy toward flowering. If flower stalks appear — a sign the plant is bolting in warm weather — remove them immediately to prolong the harvest, though choy sum flower shoots are edible and considered a delicacy.

🔬 Propagation

Asian greens are propagated almost exclusively from seed, which is widely available at Australian nurseries, hardware stores, and online seed suppliers — sow direct into prepared beds or into seed trays filled with quality seed-raising mix. For a continuous supply of fresh greens, practise succession sowing every two to three weeks throughout the cool growing season, staggering small batches to avoid a glut and ensure a steady harvest.

🗓 When to Plant

All

🌾 Harvest

All

🌏 Australian Climates

Subtropical Temperate Cool Temperate Mediterranean

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