Growing mustard may be unfamiliar to many gardeners, but this flavorful green is quick and easy to grow. Mustard (Sinapsis Alba) is a fast-growing green manure that can be sown from March to September. It has a growth period of 1 to 2 months and can reach a height of 60 to 90 cm. This semi-hardy annual grows in most soils but prefers fertile soils. Additional watering may be required during dry periods. It is ideal for gardens and containers in both spring and autumn. By planting the green manure in your garden, you can add a healthy and tasty food to your vegetable harvest. Read on to learn how to make mustardplant and care forcan.
How to plant mustard
Mustard is planted either from seeds or from seedlings. Because growing mustard seeds from seeds is so easy, this is the most common way to plant mustard seeds. However, young seedlings work just as well. If you are growing the green manure from seed, you can sow it outdoors three weeks before the last frost date. If you want a consistent harvest, you should sow mustard seeds about every three weeks to get a successive harvest.
Since mustard grass does not grow well in summer, you should stop sowing shortly before the end of spring and again in mid-summerstart sowingto be able to harvest in the fall. When sowing mustard seeds, plant each seed just below the soil level, 1cm apart.
Improve home soil by mixing in a few inches of old compost or other rich organic material. After the seeds have germinated, thin the seedlings to 8 cm. When planting seedlings, plant them 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 cm.) apart starting three weeks before the last frost. When sowing mustard seeds, you can plant new seedlings every three weeks for a continuous harvest.
Mustard seeds in the garden require little care. Give the plants plenty of sun or partial shade, and remember that mustard grass likes cool weather and grows quickly. You can fertilize with a balanced fertilizer, but in well-worked vegetable garden soil this is often not necessary. Mustard grass needs 2 inches of water per week. If you don't get as much rainfall per week when growing mustard, you can add additional watering. With regular water supplythe green manure canquickly produce edible leaves.
When plants are grown in stressful conditions such as drought or heat, the leaves can become unpleasantly spicy to most tastes. Keep the soil evenly moist. Keep your mustard patch free of weeds, especially when it comes to small seedlings. The less competition they have from weeds, the better they will grow. Mulch with wheat straw to keep plants moist. You'll need about 10 to 12 plants to provide fresh greens for two people, plus some to freeze and use in warmer weather.
When to harvest mustard grass
You should harvest mustard grass while it is still young and tender. Older leaves become tough and become increasingly bitter as they age. Discard any yellow leaves that appear on the plant. Mustard tolerates light frost, which makes its leaves sweeter. In areas where there are no killing frosts, gardeners can grow mustard throughout the winter. The mustard patch is a beautiful sight in the cool season garden. The leafy plants are easy to care for and go well with autumn flowers such as pansies. Mustard grass grows in a rosette of leaves that grows up to half a meter high. You can cook the large, peppery greens or pick smaller, young leaves to eat raw in salads and on sandwiches.
There are two ways to harvest greens. You can only harvest the large, outer leaves, allowing the center to continue to grow and produce more greens. You can also treat the plant by cutting off all leaves to a distance of 8 to 10 cm from the ground and allowing the stump to continue growing. Remember that young leaves have a milder flavor for salads.Mustard vegetables tolerateFrost and short drops in temperature, but is susceptible to severe frost. Like other vegetables, their taste becomes sweeter when cold.
When the weather warms in summer, the green manure sprouts a flower stalk and produces yellow flowers. The plants should be pulled up at this point, but the flowers make a lovely arrangement. In colder climates, you can plant mustard in a greenhouse covered with foil to protect it from severe frost. These greens are grown in the back while kale grows in the front.
