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It is so satisfying snipping fresh greens from a garden for a salad. And it’s fun to add flavors to different salads beyond your standard lettuce varieties. Certain greens, like mustard and arugula, can add a spicy kick to salads, sandwiches, pizzas, stir fries, and other recipes. In this article, I’m going to share some tips on growing mustard greens from seed.
Members of the brassica family, which includes other cruciferous veggies, like cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, and kale, mustard greens are hardy, cool-season crops that are pretty easy to grow—and low maintenance. They are also packed with vitamins and nutrients, and high in fiber, bringing lots of healthful benefits to your salad bowl.
Why grow mustard greens?
Mustard greens are like arugula, especially as the leaves mature. They add a zesty flavor to whatever they’re added to. Plants are quick to mature—they are ready in 30 to 40 days.
Different types of mustard are grown around the world, from Asia to Africa, to the Southern United States, and are used in a wide variety of recipes. Leaves are sautéed, boiled, dried, and even pickled. Not only do they bring interesting flavors, they are also very ornamental. You can also eat the flowers and seeds.
Mustard plants will start to bolt as the weather warms up, though there are some bolt-resistant varieties that will slow that inevitability. The key is regular succession planting, so your whole entire crop of mustard greens doesn’t bolt at once! Sow seeds every couple of weeks.
Types of mustard greens
When you’re perusing a seed catalog, you may encounter several different types of mustard greens, such as:
- Mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica): Also called Japanese mustard greens, kyouna, and spider mustard. Varieties include Mizuna, Purple Mizuna.
- Brown mustard (Brassica juncea): Also called Chinese mustard and leaf mustard. Varieties include: Miz America, Green Wave, Wasabina, Red Giant, Florida Broadleaf, Southern Giant Curled (It’s worth noting that this was an AAS winner in 1935!).
- Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis): Also called Japanese mustard spinach. Leaves are sweeter when they’re young and have more of a mustard flavor as they age. Varieties include Tendergreen.
Growing mustard greens from seed
Mustard greens are cool-weather crops, so they’re among the first seeds you can plant in the early spring. (That’s usually about six weeks before your last frost date.) If you’re planting under a row cover or in a cold frame for frost protection, you may even be able to plant mustard seeds in late winter. The plants can weather a light frost once established.
Direct sow seeds in an area of the garden with well-drained soil that gets full sun to partial shade. Amend the area well with compost. To plant, I recommend just making a very shallow furrow and then lightly sprinkling soil overtop once weeds are sown. Seeds only need to be planted about one quarter inch (.5 cm) deep. once seedlings start to appear, thin plants so they’re about four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) apart.
Stagger your sowings over a few weeks to extend the harvest. Be mindful that mustard greens will start to bolt once the weather gets warm. The plants will send up flower stalks, which is where the mustard seeds will form.
Seeds can be sown again through late summer and fall until about two to three weeks before your first frost date. You can also sow seeds in containers with other greens for a salad mix.
I cover my spring greens with floating row cover not only for a bit of frost protection, but also to keep pests away. And in the fall it helps to extend the growing season.
Caring for mustard plants
Water seeds lightly. You want to be careful that there is enough moisture, but the stream is light so as not to wash the seeds away.
Mustard greens aren’t very bothered by pests. You may see a little bit of damage here and there from slugs or sowbugs. Mustard greens can be used as a trap crop for flea beetles and aphids, which also enjoy the leaves. Row cover can protect the leaves from damage.
When to harvest mustard greens
I treat my mustard greens like cut-and-come-again lettuces. I harvest both baby and full-grown leaves, by snipping the stems of the outer leaves of the plant with my garden scissors. Once the plants start to flower, you can eat those, too.
However you can simply pull out the entire plant once you’re ready to harvest. Simply cut off the roots and it’s ready for however you’re going to prepare it.
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