Mustard greens, Brassica juncea, are easy to grow, mature relatively quickly, and produce high yields in small areas. They like cooler temperatures and grow best when direct seeded in the late summer to produce a fall and winter crop. They are also a great crop to seed early in the spring!
Mustard greens are among the most nutritious greens, rich in vitamin A and C, as well as calcium, iron, and potassium.
Mustard greens are a great winter crop because while other crops begin to suffer as the temperature drops, they are happy in the cold weather and are very versatile to cook with. Mustards have a subtle but distinct horseradish-mustard flavor. Use them fresh in a salad or on a sandwich, sauté them, braise them, boil them, steam them, or put them in soup! Salt and acid are always a good compliment to cooked and raw mustard greens.
Mustard greens are what we consider a ‘cut and come again’ crop. Most plantings should provide 2-4 cuttings!
If you decided to seed mustard greens in your garden, we suggest seeding them in rows 6” apart, about 3 seeds per row inch. If sown this way, the greens should not require thinning.
Harvest the greens when they are small (4-6") to eat fresh in salads or allow them to grow to be 8-12" and harvest for cooking greens!
Varieties we recommend:
Green Wave (shown in photo)
Golden Frills
Ruby Streaks
Mustard greens also make excellent micro-greens! Click here to learn how to grow your own micro-greens at home.