< Back Gai Lan: The Versatile Chinese Broccoli Expand your vegetable choices with Gai lan. Also known as Chinese broccoli, Gai lan is a leafy green vegetable that is a staple in Chinese and Asian cuisine. It is a close relative to broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Its harvest time and preference for cooler growing conditions makes it a great vegetable option for spring and fall in Minnesota gardens. Gai lan has its own unique flavor profile and texture compared to American broccoli. Read this article to learn more about this healthy and flavorful vegetable. Vida Dam, Dakota County Master Gardener Intern Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, is a leafy green vegetable that is a staple in Chinese and Asian cuisine. Its scientific name is Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra , making it a close relative to broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Its harvest time and preference for cooler growing conditions makes it a great vegetable option for spring and fall in Minnesota gardens. Gai lan has its own unique flavor profile and texture compared to American broccoli. What is Gai Lan! Gai lan is a cruciferous vegetable with thick, glossy, blue-green leaves, thick and juicy stems and small, yellow or white flower buds. It is also commonly known as Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, gai lan, kie lan, jie lan, guy lon at Asian markets. Unlike the large head of common broccoli, gai lan is harvested as individual stems. Its flavor is a fascinating blend of bitter and sweet, with a satisfying crunch depending on harvest time. The entire plant, including the leaves, stems, and flower buds, is edible and highly nutritious. Gardening with Gai Lan! Similar to many of its relatives, gai lan prefers cooler growing conditions and will bolt during high heat conditions. Gai lan can be started inside and transplanted in spring for an early summer harvest. Gai lan can also be a succession crop with direct seed in late July harvesting in late September and October. The crop prefers full sun, fertile and well-drained soils. But note - before the florets arrive or before it blooms, please harvest the crop. The stems are more tender, crispy and not as fibrous when harvested before the florets arrive. Usual harvest is the full stem with the leaves and florets. Cooking with Gai Lan! Gai lan is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate, calcium, and iron. All parts of the vegetables from stem, leaves, and flowers are edible for dishes. It is a very versatile vegetable that can be stir fried, blanched, steamed and garnished in soup to name a few options. In a chinese restaurant and during dim sum, people may come across gai lan in a cantonese style where it is blanched and drizzled with oyster sauce. Clean gai lan like any other greens, removing the bottom portion of the stem that is appearing tough. Leverage a vegetable peeler for extra thick and tough skins at the bottom of the stem. For big stems, feel free to halve them before cooking. For leaves, discard any thick, wilted, and any leaves that are not dark green. For the buds, individuals can choose to keep or remove per personal preference. A few referenced recipes are below from the Tufts University: Cantonese Gai Lan Stir Fry Chinese Broccoli and Shiitake Rice Stir Fry Sauteed Chinese Broccoli with Garlic Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli If you haven’t already done so, expand your culinary horizons and try Gai lan for a tasty and healthy meal. Resource Links: Tuft University - basic information https://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/world-peas-food-hub/world-peas-csa/produce-recipes/chinese-broccoli#:~:text=Chinese%20broccoli%20has%20broad%20blue,with%20a%20sometimes%20spicy%20flavor . Australia Horticulture: Asian Vegetables - basic information https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/vegetables/commodity-growing-guides/asian-vegetables/g-l/gai-lan-embrassica-oleracea-var.-alboglabraem Singapore plant details - more information about Plant https://gardeningsg.nparks.gov.sg/page-index/edible-plants/kai-lan/?hl=en-US Mygardenlife: facts about growing the vegetable https://mygardenlife.com/plant-library/guy-lon-chinese-broccoli-brassica-oleracea-var-alboglabra Photo Credits: Vida Dam (1,2) www.artofit.org (3)

< Back From Our House to Yours: Winter Sowing Native Plants for You! Marie Stolte, Dakota County Master Gardener Master Gardeners strive to be stewards of the environment. To that end, the Dakota County Master Gardener program seeks ways to support the efforts of community members to practice good gardening in their own yards. Planting native plants in your garden is one of those good gardening practices. To support that practice, the Master Gardeners’ Propagation Team grows native plants from local seeds that you can buy at our annual plant sale in May. In this article, learn how Master Gardeners collect, prepare and grow the native seeds. Master Gardeners using cleaning boards to clean native seeds Did you know that Dakota County Master Gardeners grow many of the native plants that we offer at our annual Plant Sale? At next year’s sale (on May 16, 2026, at the Western Service Center in Apple Valley from 8 until noon), you will find the 48 types of natives that our Propagation Team is growing this winter. There will also be shrubs, native grasses, and other plants that we obtain from local vendors. Our growing for the Plant Sale actually started in September and October, when we collected ripe native plant seeds from our own gardens. In November, we brought bags of dried seeds to the new Dakota County Parks’ greenhouse in Lebanon Hills Regional Park for cleaning. The Parks graciously allowed our approximately 15 volunteers to use their cleaning boards to crush seed capsules, scrub away the fuzz and chaff, and sieve the seeds. Master Gardeners sorting and cleaning seed It’s a time-consuming process, but important--removing the chaff means the seeds can get better soil contact at planting time. instrument to remove chaff from the seed; seeds in bottom cup are blown to the top of the tube where the lighter chaff is collected in side tubes. Seed sinks to bottom with less chaff Cleaned seeds that need no stratification were placed in envelopes, and are being kept in a cool, dark place until planting time in April. The rest of the seeds that required cold stratification (see Jessie Thompson’s article describing cold stratification in this January issue) for 10, 30, or 60 days went on to a second group of volunteers for winter sowing. Winter sowing is an easy process you can do yourself at home. All it takes is a plastic container that is at least two inches deep, damp potting soil to fill the container, seeds, water, a magic marker, and Mother Nature. Right after we cleaned the seeds in November, our volunteers punched holes in the tops and bottoms of containers that once held lettuce, strawberries, and grapes. Each container was filled with dampened potting soil. We planted the seeds at the proper planting depth. Finally, we labeled each container with the plant’s name and the date those seeds would complete the necessary cold stratification. Three Master Gardeners took all the containers home, watered them deeply, and set them alongside our homes. Mother Nature has taken it from there. The containers behind my garage were exposed to rain in the fall and are now covered with snow. Starting January 15, the first group of native plant seeds will complete cold stratification. More volunteers will take those containers, bring them inside their warm homes, and put them under grow lights. They will keep the seeds watered until they germinate. The little seedlings will keep growing in our homes until they go to the greenhouse for transplanting on April 1. From there, more Master Gardeners will tend to the seedlings and help them grow into healthy, mature plants suitable for our May Plant Sale. Look for more information about our Plant Sale this spring and consider bringing some of these native, home-grown plants for your yard. native Common Ironweed Photo Credits : MB Kufrin (1-3), www.flickr.com (4)

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back