THE CHINESE GREENS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 10

as one person in a family may be peppery in temperament while another is only mildly
so. Some varieties are described as tasting like Dijon mustard when eaten raw. Chinese
mustard isn't usually found in the produce section, unless you live near a Chinese mar-
ket, so you must grow your own to enjoy it. You may find it called Indian mustard or
takana .
Appearance
Chinese mustard comes in many forms, like leaf lettuces. The leaves may be broad and
flat, curled, crinkled, or feathery. Plants can grow from 12 to 18 inches in height. Since
the flavor of one will vary slightly from another, try several — easy to do in a single
season, since this fast-growing crop lends itself to successive sowings.
The seeds are small, round, and dark red to almost black. In India and Asia they are
pressed for their oil, which has medicinal as well as culinary uses.
How to Grow
Getting started. Sow in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked, and again
from early August until the first frost. Most varieties do not do well in midsummer. In
hot weather, the flavor becomes peppery strong, and plants bolt (flower). If you want
to enjoy it all summer long, seek out varieties described as slow to bolt, keep seedlings
well watered, and harvest leaves when they're still young.
Planting. Sow the small seeds ¾ inch apart, in rows 12 to 18 inches apart, and cover
with a ¼ inch of soil. When seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to stand 2 inches apart.
If you plan to harvest greens at full size (12 to 18 inches tall), continue thinning until
plants are 10 inches apart to allow clumps to develop.
Growing needs. Chinese mustard tastes best when it's kept growing briskly. Keep well
watered and fertilize weekly with half-strength liquid fertilizer or fish emulsion. Weed-
ing and mulching helps to conserve moisture.
How to Harvest
Maturity dates range from 35 to 50 days, depending on the variety. Don't wait this long,
though. Harvest from the time the plants are 3 inches tall. For salad greens, stop har-
vesting once plants exceed 8 inches in height. Taller than that, the leaves become very
pungent, more like common mustard. Rather than treating them as cut-and-come-again
salad greens, it's better to pull up plants and start a new crop.
Varieties
You've probably encountered a red form of Chinese mustard in mesclun salad mixes, as
it's a popular ingredient for its color and Dijon mustard flavor.