Grow Mustard Greens for Your Garden

Mustard greens are a hardy, cool weather crop and a great addition to the garden. Their hot, spicy flavor and tender leaves are ideal for salads or cooked with cubes of ham, fried bacon or with smoked ham hocks. Mustard greens are also good to add to soups. They grow well in full sunlight and are best when grown before or after the hot days of summer.  Mustard greens grow quickly and best in spring. They can be harvested in as little as 45 days.

Mustard greens grow best in soil that is well fertilized with organic matter such as manure or compost. Soil should drain well as mustard greens do not tolerate constantly wet roots. Water your plants lightly. And avoid wetting the leaves.

Seeds are tiny and brown to black in color. Sow your seeds either in rows or in a raised bed to a depth of about 1/2 inch then cover with loose soil.  They should germinate in three to five days. When they germinate, let the seedlings grow to a height of about three inches then thin to allow 6"-12" of space between plants. Thinning gives the plant room to grow and allows for good air circulation.

Aphids and cabbage worms are a common problem in some areas. Releasing lady bugs into you garden is a good practice since these insects prey on aphids. Also use a good organic pesticide. Greens can become infected with blight and fungus. The best way to combat these is to avoid over-watering and wetting leaves.

You can plant a crop in early spring after the danger of frost is past and then again in fall before the first frost. In summer, mustard greens should be planted near shading plants such as corn or tomatoes to keep them from wilting.

Mustard greens can be harvested when the leaves are small to add to salads. Larger leaves should be cut into smaller pieces and cooked for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Mustard greens are delicious and nutritious. The spicy flavor adds zing to salads and stir-fry. A mustard green leaf placed on the forehead is said to help relieve a headache. Mustard greens are high in vitamins A, C, E and iron. Vitamin C works to  neutralize the free radicals that cause muscle contractions and airway constriction in asthma.

Hardy and versatile, mustard greens are nutritious and delicious. They are easy to grow and are are often used medicinally. Their bright green color perk up any garden. Add a bed or a few rows of mustard greens to your garden and you will come to appreciate the beauty and many uses for this delicious vegetable.