Common names: mustard, Chinese mustard, leaf mustard, spinach greens

Botanical name: Brassica juncea

Origin: Asia

Varieties

Tendergreen (spinach mustard, 30 days); Green Wave (45 days); Southern Giant Curled (40 days).

Description

Mustard is a hardy annual with a rosette of large light or dark green crinkled leaves that grow up to three feet in length. The leaves and leaf stalks are eaten. The seeds can be ground and used as a condiment. If you had lived in ancient Rome, you would have eaten mustard to cure your lethargy and any pains you suffered.

Where and when to grow

Mustard is a cool-season crop; it's hardy, but the seeds will not germinate well if you sow them too early, so plant seeds in the garden on your average date of last frost. Mustard is grown like lettuce; it is more heat-tolerant than lettuce, but long hot summer days will force the plants to bolt and go to seed. As mustard has a very short growing season, most areas of the United States can accommodate it without any problems.

How to plant

Mustard tolerates partial shade and needs well-worked soil, high in organic matter, with good drainage and moisture retention. When you're preparing the soil, dig in a complete, well-balanced

fertilizer at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet or 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Plant the seeds half an inch deep in rows 12 to 24 inches apart, and when the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them to stand six to 12 inches apart. Transplant the thinned seedlings, or eat them in soups or as greens. For a continuous harvest, plant a few seeds at intervals, rather than an entire row at one time. As soon as the plants start to go to seed, pull them up or they will produce a great number of seeds and sow themselves all over the garden. Plant mustard again when the weather begins to cool off.

Fertilizing and watering

Fertilize before planting and again at midseason, at the same rate as the rest of the garden. Water mustard before the soil dries out to keep the leaves growing quickly.

Pests

Mustard is almost always attacked by some pest or other and is more susceptible than other crops to attack by flea beetles and aphids. Hand-pick or hose these pests off the plant, or pinch out aphid-infested foliage. Or use a chemical spray of Malathion or Diazinon. Because of its pest problems, mustard is not the ideal crop for the organic gardener.

Diseases

Mustard has no serious disease problems.

When and how to harvest

Pick off individual leaves as they grow, or cut the entire plant. Harvest when the leaves are young and tender; in summer the leaf texture may become tough and the flavor strong. Harvest the whole crop when some of the plants start to go to seed.

Storing and preserving

You can store mustard in the refrigerator for up to one week, or you can freeze, can, or dry your excess crop; use the recipes for greens. You can also sprout mustard seeds.

Serving suggestions