🥬 Mustard greens

Mustard greens are fast, peppery and very hardy, available in green, red and purple, and with frilly, smooth or crinkled leaves. They are ideal for baby leaf salads and stir-fries, and give a fiery punch to mixed leaves.

They can be sown almost all year round, and make a good winter crop. Red Giant and Green in Snow are particularly decorative. Mustard also works as a green manure.

Varieties to try

Red Giant (large, red-purple leaves)Green in Snow (very hardy)Golden Streaks (frilly yellow-green)Southern Giant Curled (large)Ruby Streaks (frilly red)

Sow thinly, 1 cm deep, from March to September in rows 20 cm apart, or scatter in pots. Thin to 10–25 cm for full plants, or leave dense for baby leaf. Seeds germinate in 3–5 days.

Cover with fine mesh against flea beetle. Sow in shade in hot weather to avoid bolting. Autumn sowings under cover give winter leaves.

A mixed sowing of red, green and frilly mustards gives a very attractive plot as well as variety in flavour. For continuous cut-and-come-again crops, sow a 1 m row every fortnight.

Top tips

• Sow thinly.
• Use fine mesh.
• Shade in summer.
• Sow every 2–3 weeks.

Water regularly; stress makes leaves hot and bitter and causes bolting. Weed carefully. No feed is needed.

Flea beetle, slugs and caterpillars are the main pests. Rotate with other brassicas. Plants tolerate frost, and leaf flavour mellows in cold.

Hot, dry weather makes mustard greens extremely pungent and quick to bolt, so grow them in partial shade through summer and water well. In autumn and winter, the plants sweeten and soften in the cold. A cloche or fleece extends the harvest through the coldest months, protecting the leaves from wind and rain damage.

Top tips

• Water regularly.
• Net against pests.
• Rotate with other brassicas.
• Cut before flowering.

Watch out for

Flea beetleSlugsCaterpillarsBolting in heat

Pick baby leaves from three weeks, cutting 2.5 cm above the ground for regrowth. Full leaves are ready from six to eight weeks. Pick outer leaves first.

Younger leaves are milder. Flowers and flower buds are edible. Cut before flowering for the best flavour.

The cooler it is, the milder the leaves. Autumn-sown mustards are often the best flavoured. If plants bolt, the yellow flowers and buds can be eaten and are very attractive in salads.

Top tips

• Cut baby leaves early.
• Cut above the base.
• Pick young for mildness.
• Eat the flowers.

Use baby leaves in salads and sandwiches for peppery heat. Cook larger leaves in stir-fries, soups, curries and braises, or wilt like spinach. They are traditional in Southern US and Asian cooking.

Keeps 3–4 days in the fridge. Blanch and freeze for cooking.

For a milder flavour, blanch large leaves for one minute before stir-frying, or braise slowly with bacon, onion and a splash of vinegar, the Southern US way. The peppery taste is also good in sandwiches in place of rocket.

Top tips

• Cooking reduces the heat.
• Use baby leaves raw.
• Add to stir-fries.
• Blanch and freeze.