Latin name: Brassica juncea
🌱 Days to Sprout: 5-10
😋 Plant food: after true leaves
✂️ Thin to: 1 plant per yCube
🍅 Days to Maturity: 21-45
💡 Light Zone: Moderate
📏 Plant Size: 1 ft
💚 Care Level: Beginner
Origin
While native to western and central Asia, American Mustard made its way to North America through Europe. Its name reflects the familiar, peppery, mustard flavor expected from a mustard plant. From the Brassica family, American Mustard is a cousin to broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower.
Qualities
This leafy green boasts bright green leaves with a spicy, peppery flavor. Its yellow flowers that grow when bolting are also edible, and produce seeds that are high in erucic acid, which may have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Use
Add the leaves, stems, and flowers as an accent to salads for added flavor, depth, and natural spice. It’s also well suited for sandwiches as an alternative to adding a mustard condiment.
Care & Harvest
💡Temperature: Prefers cooler temperatures (60-70°F), and if placed in higher temperatures, it will turn bitter and bolt.
✂️ Pruning: Check the roots monthly and trim any that are brown or extending past the yPod. To delay bolting, cut the yellow-flowering stems as they appear. If leaves turn yellow due to non-use, discard them.
🥬 Harvest: For ongoing harvest, snip the outer leaves just above the base of the plant once they reach 4 inches tall to let the inner leaves continue to grow. Harvesting when the leaves are young ensures the freshest flavor and prevents the leaves from getting tough. Leave 1/3 of the plant if you want it to keep growing. To harvest the full head, wait until it reaches maturity, then harvest from the base.
Our Plant Health & Nutrition Team thoroughly tests each variety we offer to bring you the most flavorful and high-quality plants. We regularly rotate our plant portfolio, so please note, availability varies.