Evaluating Production and Marketing of Asian Vegetables in West Virginia

Asian vegetables include a diverse group of vegetables with very unique colors, shapes and flavors.  Most Asian greens are cool season vegetables and should be grown as a spring or fall crop.  With the use of low and high tunnels, some Asian greens can be successfully overwintered in West Virginia.  There is a potentially strong commercial market for some Asian vegetables in West Virginia.  Potential market outlets include restaurants, local farmers’ markets and ethnic grocery stores.  From 2012-2015, diverse Asian vegetables have been evaluated for full-season production and market potential in West Virginia.  Controlled environment using high tunnels, low tunnels and shade house production systems were evaluated. The best loose leaf Asian greens evaluated in this study were ‘Komatsuna’, ‘Yukina Savoy’, ‘Tatsoi’ and ‘Senposai’.  ‘Senposai’ is a cross between green cabbage and komatsuna and is a relatively large plant which produces leaves with a sweet, mild flavor.  Senposai is an excellent replacement for collards in the garden.  Loose leaf greens can be harvested as full-size or baby-size (<4 in.length) leaves.  Full size leaves can be bunched (15-20 stems/bunch) and banded with a rubber band.  The loose leaves should be washed and cooled immediately after harvest.  Mizuna is an excellent salad green and can be harvested at any stage of growth. Some Asian greens can be harvested as both as intact heads or loose leaves.  For example ‘Tokyo  Bekana’ is a Chinese cabbage which is a cold weather substitute for lettuce.  Loose leaves or the entire head is harvested depending on the market outlet. Most Pac choy cabbages are harvested as intact heads.  All of the Pac choy cabbages evaluated were excellent and can be grown in low or high tunnels for extended season production.  Baby Pac choys can be sold to a variety of market outlets and often reach maturity quickly.