Mustard
Don’t get surprised if you hear someone calling mustard leaves the “wasabi of salad greens”. That’s because mustard has a distinct taste and is more versatile than ever: it can be eaten raw, dried, and cooked.
Not to mention it’s full of nutrients such as Vitamins A, B, C, E, calcium, copper, manganese, phosphorus and many others.
There are a lot of types of mustard greens that you can seed and thrive in your home-garden, including:
- Frill Mustard
- Purple Mizuna Mustard
- Ruby Streaks Mustard
Are you planning to add this delicious green to your diet and plant it at the comfort of home? Check our tips below:
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How to seed mustard greens?
You can seed mustard greens about three to four weeks before the last frost date. Mustards don’t like hot temperatures and don’t grow well in the summer, so make sure you’re planting before the end of spring.
Keep in mind: mustards like cool weather and plenty of sun! Whenever they’re receiving proper sunlight, they can grow rapidly.
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How to water mustard greens?
Mustard greens need about two inches of water a week, so if you’re planning to plant them indoors, be diligent: sprinkle the right amount of water if it isn’t provided by the rain.
Observe your baby plants through the week and notice if it the soil isn’t drying out – the moment it gets too dry, it’s the time that you’ll need to water a bit more.
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Taking care of mustard greens
- Don’t cluster your baby seedlings in the container garden, otherwise, they won’t have the proper space to thrive. Make sure they bed weed free: the less competition they have from weeds, the better they’ll grow!
- Mustard greens don’t need fertilizers if the garden soil is well amended. If you notice yellowed leaves, thin them out or discard them further while harvesting.
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Time to harvest the fresh mustard leaves:
- You can start harvesting new, fresh mustard leaves when they’re still young and tender. Older and yellowed leaves may get tough and bitter, so discard them.
- Pick individual leaves and leave the plant to grow more, if you feel that they’re still not ready (that’s why observing plants is really important in the gardening process).
- Another alternative is harvesting the mustard greens entirely by cutting down to harvest all the leaves at once.
- After harvested, you can store the mustard leaves unwashed until you use them at frozen temperatures. They can be kept in a tightly sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper or the refrigerator for up to a week.
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After harvested and stored, mustard leaves can be used as a spicy-add to your meals!
Visit our exclusive recipe blog and check out amazing meals that you can prepare with mustard greens:
