Southern Giant Curled Mustard Greens

MUSTARD GREENS - source of Vitamin A for salads or greens.

Sow 1 oz-/28 g per 300 ft./91 m - approx. 15,000 seeds per oz./28 g

CULTURE: Mustard is a cool weather crop, and quickly bolts to seed when the weather turns warm. Seed should be sown in early spring, as soon as the ground can be made ready. Average soil with little or no fertilizer is necessary. Successive plantings can be made until about 4 weeks from the heat of the summer (early April til late May) or in mid August for fall harvests. Sow seed as thinly as possible - about 1 in/25 mm apart, 3/8 in/10 mm deep in rows 12 in/31 cm apart. Seed germinates quickly in 3 to 7 days, and seedlings should be thinned to 8 in/20 cm apart. Discarded seedlings may be used in salads. Keep plants well-watered during dry spells, mulching helps to retain moisture.

HARVEST: about 4 or 5 weeks from sowing. Cut the small basal leaves with shears, (not too close or plants will stop producing a consistent supply of leaves).

USES: Cut at 4 in/10 cm for salads or allow leaves to develop further-about 6 in/15 cm, and cook like Swiss chard or "greens". Flavor is similar to spinach. Although mustard is mainly grown in the southern states, it can be grown in northern areas as well. Plants will withstand light frosts.

YIELDS: Approx. 5 lbs/2 kg of leaf stalks from 10 ft/3 m of row depending on the number of cuttings.