Have your bok choy, cabbage or spinach plants recently bolted?  (Note: bolting is a term used to describe vegetable plants that have prematurely begun to flower.  If you have, you're not alone.  Gardeners from around the county have complained their veggies have bolted.  The culprit is the unusual weather we've been having the past couple of months.

Cool season crops, such as bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens are often vegetables that are susceptible to bolting.

Bolting results from an unusual cold period, an unusual increase in the temperature, extended daylight and other plant stresses.  As you recall, we had much colder temperatures in February and March. When plants experience one of these stresses, it goes into survival of the species mode.  So it begins to bolt.  Because it focuses all of it's energy on reproduction and producing seeds, it will begin to taste bitter.  You may be able to extend the harvest season by pinching off the flowers.

For more information on bolting,

https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/ENVIRON/bolting.html#:~:text=Bolting%20is%20caused%20by%20prolonged,be%20stimulated%20by%20high%20temperatures

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/bolting.html.