Tsai-Hsin (Choi-San)

A very popular vegetable for Chinese cooking. Leaves are oblong, thick and erect with slender petioles. The ones I grew last summer (2011) appeared slender than the ones you would buy from an Asian store. What surprised me about this plant was that it tolerated frost. The plants I had in late spring is still alive and blooming, yet it is now late winter. This tells me that this plant must grow in colder part of Asia. I usually cut off the bloom to let it produce more leaves. This is my husband's and my son's favorite Asian leafy vegetable. We enjoy it in stir fries.

When to plant. I found that this plant tolerates frost. Plant year long. For caution, try and plant the seeds direct if you know you have a full week without frost to give the seed a chance to sprout.

How to plant. Plant seeds direct. This plant likes moist soil.

Light	Full sun
Seed Depth	1/2 in
Spacing Row/plant	24 in / 12 in
Days to germinate	7-14
Days to harvest	45-50

Harvest. Once the plant starts to bolt, it is best to cut the whole plant. For more leaves, cut the bolt off and let it produce more leaves. However, doing this will make mature part of the stem not palatable.

Health Benefits. Growing up in Asia, I ate a lot of green leafy vegetables. I was always told that they are full of nutrients. Asia has a larger variety of leafy vegetables. Not a lot of information is found on Tsai-Hsin, perhaps it would have the same nutritional value as other green leafy vegetables.

What is it that makes leafy green vegetables a veritable superfood? One reason is the rich assortment of nutrients that can be found in them; vitamins A, C, E, and K feature heavily in salad greens, kale and spinach while many of the B vitamins can be found in broccoli, bok choy, mustard greens and many other varieties of leafy green vegetable. These same vegetables also contain an abundance of phytonutrients (or phytochemicals) such as zeaxanthin, lutein and beta-carotene; valuable chemicals which protect cells from damage.

Green leafy vegetables also contain high levels of dietary fibre, magnesium, potassium, folic acid, calcium and even Omega-3 fatty acids, which serve to maintain eye health, aid in digestive regulation, increase bone strength and boost the immune system.
(http://onyi-nwabineli.suite101.com/leafy-green-vegetables-and-their-health-benefits-a174971)