Good tips for growing lettuce mustard. Mustard leaf

Many believe that mustard sauce is the only thing that can be made from a plant increasingly cultivated by ordinary gardeners.

However, there is also salad mustard, and not only the one from the seeds of which mustard powder is produced, hot sauce in tubes and jars, or sold as a seasoning. The leaf version is interesting as a fresh product from which you can prepare salads and other dishes, and even harvest for the winter.

Varieties of salad mustard

Gardeners grow salad mustard of different varieties: it is often called mustard salad. Varietal plants, unlike wild ones, are characterized by shorter growth and whole leaves. Here are some popular varieties of mustard crop.

Volnushka

An early growing variety that yields juicy greens in a month. The plant grows a voluminous and somewhat spreading leaf rosette, consisting of elongated oval leaves with a diameter of about 32 cm, painted in a pale green tone and remaining smooth. Taste - tart-sharp. One socket can weigh about 80 grams.

The yield of mustard salad "Volnushka" per square meter is about 2 kg.

Freckle

An early variety that gives lush greenery for 25-30 days in the form of a half-spreading rosette about 30 cm high and weighing 170 grams. This variety has large, dark green, slightly wrinkled leaves with reddish veins. The taste of mustard is slightly spicy, the leaf is tender and juicy.

From a square meter, you can collect about 3.6 kg of freckle mustard leaf.

Mushtarda

A fast growing plant: greens can be harvested after 25-35 days, when the height of the rosette reaches 20 cm. For large crops, Mushtarda mustard is sown every 15 days until August 15th. Thanks to its piquant taste, green foliage is added to side dishes and salads.

The yield of a variety with 1 m² is about 3 kg.

Mustang

A variety of medium ripening, forming after 35 days a rosette of large red-green whole, hairless leaves about 30 cm high. One rosette weighs about 60 grams.

On a square meter of land grows up to 4 kg of juicy spicy greens.

lovely

Another early variety, giving greenery in a greenhouse for 20 days, in open field– in 35-40 days. It forms an upright rosette, the diameter of which reaches 10-15 cm. It consists of smooth pale green ovoid sheets: they are covered with a small wax coating. Delicate juicy leaves have a pleasant slightly spicy taste.

The yield of mustard salad "Prelestnaya" is 3.4 kg per square meter.

The composition and useful properties of leaf mustard

Mustard salad contains a lot of useful components, consisting of:

• Ascorbic acid.
• Magnesium, iron, phosphorus, copper, potassium, calcium and other minerals.
• Vitamins A, B6, E and K.
• Proteins and mucus.
• Fiber.
• Mustard oil - fatty and essential.

Despite the fact that Mushtarda mustard and other varieties are almost half fat, its calorie content is only 30 Kcal per 100 g of product. Therefore, leaf mustard is equated with dietary crops.

Mustard salad "Volnushka" and other varieties have a beneficial effect on human body. Due to its rich composition, this culture has many useful properties:

• Anti-inflammatory. Fatty acid, vitamin K and glucosinolates in the composition of the product relieve inflammatory processes in various diseases including colds.
• Protective. Due to the content of folic acid, mustard leaves lower cholesterol levels, strengthen blood vessels and heart muscle.
• Cleansing. Containing a lot of fiber, mustard lettuce enhances intestinal motility, helps with constipation and removes toxins.
• Antioxidant. Phytonutrients and antioxidants in the composition of the plant prevent the formation of cancer cells.

Mustard leaves stimulate appetite, improve digestion, speed up metabolism and promote weight loss.

Harm and contraindications of salad mustard

Despite the abundance of useful micro- and macroelements and useful properties, leaves for some people this plant can harm.

Eating mustard leaves is unacceptable in such cases:

• With individual intolerance to any components of the plant.
• In diseases of the kidneys and gallbladder: oxalates present in the leaves can provoke the appearance of stones.
• When taking blood thinners.
• When taking calcium: vitamin K does not allow it to be absorbed in full.
• With gastrointestinal ulcers.
• With severe heart disease.

Pregnant women should not get carried away with mustard, so as not to provoke swelling, as well as lactating women: babies may be allergic to the product.

To taste, salad mustard is a cross between horseradish, green salad and mustard sauce. Its spicy taste gives sweet and spicy notes to marinated preparations, fresh vegetable salads, fish and meat dishes. Sandwiches are flavored with mustard leaves and ready-made dishes are decorated, they are eaten with boiled eggs and put in soups. It can even be prepared for the future, as a separate dish, for example, marinated or salted.

Growing mustard is not very popular with Russian gardeners, and in vain. After all, this plant is recognized as a storehouse useful substances- vitamins, antioxidants and trace elements that have a beneficial effect on almost all human organs. Salad mustard, due to its unpretentiousness, can be grown both in the open field, and in greenhouses, and even on the windowsills of an apartment, providing us with vitamins all year round.

Salad mustard - a useful spice

Salad (aka leafy) mustard has large juicy leaves with a piquant spicy taste that combines notes of radish, horseradish and spicy mustard. leafy greens great for salads, appetizers, sandwiches and sandwiches. The leaves of the plant are added to soups, meat and fish dishes, canned and pickled for the winter. Pasta with mustard leaves is popular in Italy, and Americans add it to their favorite steaks. Yes, and the domestic food industry is unthinkable without salad mustard, which is used in the production of mayonnaise and savory sauces.

For cultivation in Russian latitudes, the most popular varieties are:

• Red-leaved;
• Volnushka;
• Ladushka;
• Salad 54;
• Ant (for greenhouses and greenhouses).

The beautiful names of the varieties are inspired by the structure of the leaves of the plant - wide with wavy edges and a green or reddish color.

Salad mustard contains vitamins A, B, C, K, E, the composition of trace elements is also wide: selenium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, zinc and others. Mustard oil reduces cholesterol, improves immunity and vascular elasticity, improves the functioning of the digestive and cardiovascular systems.

Supporters healthy eating can safely include salad mustard in their diet due to its low calorie content (26 kcal per 100 g of product).

Leaf mustard can grow in any soil, but for a generous harvest, you need a loose fertile soil with slightly alkaline or neutral acidity, and the sowing site should not be waterlogged. Areas after potatoes, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas are best suited. At the same place, the annual planting of mustard is not recommended - it is necessary to resume sowing after 3-4 years.

It is undesirable to sow mustard in those areas where cabbage (garden, cauliflower, leafy, kohlrabi), radish, swede or turnip grew before - that is, any representatives of the cruciferous family.

The plant is frost-resistant and is able to tolerate cooling down to -5 ° C, so the sowing is carried out in early April. Sow the seeds in rows in moist soil at a distance of at least 25-30 cm, so that when the green mass is set, the plants can develop normally. The recommended sowing depth is 1-1.5 cm. For 1 square meter an average of 0.8-1 g of seeds is consumed.

Mustard cultivation is practiced in greenhouses and greenhouses. The sowing technology is the same as in open ground, only the sowing time can be moved to March. After sowing in the greenhouse, it is recommended to create a temperature of + 25 ° C, and then gradually lower it to + 14 ° C, which will allow seedlings to adapt to a cool climate and prevent them from stretching out.

Mustard Care

After the formation of the first true leaflet, the shoots must be thinned out, leaving 5 cm between plants. The next time, the entrances are thinned out after the formation of the fourth true leaf, while the distance between plants is increased to 10-15 cm. Thinning when growing mustard is necessary condition. Culture can grow in a thickened plantation, but you should not wait good harvest.

When the height of lettuce mustard reaches 10-15 cm (2-3 weeks after sowing), the leaves can be cut off and eaten. It is customary to remove a plant from the garden before it releases flowering arrows. Rosettes of leaves are cut with scissors or pulled out with roots. It is enough to leave a few plants for seeds.

Mustard pods crack when ripe, so they need to be collected when browning. In the future, the pods must be kept for a month at a temperature of +16 to +18 ° C for final maturation.

If desired, sowing can be carried out repeatedly with an interval of 1-1.5 weeks, then fresh herbs will delight you for a long time. However, it is worth considering that when hot weather sets in, the plant quickly leaves the stems, and the leaves coarsen. Therefore, it is recommended to sow leafy mustard in spring period or at the end of summer, when the heat will subside. Optimal temperature regime for spicy leaves - from +18 to +20°C.

Caring for a mustard crop is simple and consists in loosening the soil, timely weeding and regular watering. Water the site sparingly as needed - if the plant feels a lack of moisture, the taste of the leaves will deteriorate.

Fertilizers for mustard

Additional nutrition for leaf mustard should be applied from the fall, when the site is being prepared for future sowing. The earth must be dug up with the use of fertilizers per 1 sq. m.:

• compost - 3-6 kg;
• potassium chloride - 10 g;
• superphosphate - 15 g.

For a good harvest, the plant needs top dressing, especially on poor soils. After the first thinning, experts recommend using young shoots as additional nutrition:

• urea solution - 10 g per 10 liters of water;
• mullein solution - in a ratio of 1:10;
• solution chicken manure- in a ratio of 1:15.

Suitable and green manure"in the form of an infusion of fermented herbs, as well as wood ash (200 g per 10 liters of water).

Summing up

Salad mustard is worthy of growing in our beds and greenhouses. Its cultivation will allow almost all year round to provide the family with not only tasty, but also useful product. Given the unpretentiousness of the culture, planting and caring for it is within the power of even novice gardeners, and timely fertilization will ensure bountiful harvest curly foliage.

Spicy mustard greens, also known as mustard greens, are one of the most nutritious green leafy vegetables. It contains more vitamins A and K, carotenes and flavonoid antioxidants than ordinary vegetables and fruits. The plant belongs to the Brassica family, which also includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Its scientific name is Brassica juncea. It originates from the plains in the foothills of the Himalayas of the Indian subcontinent and is cultivated by man, valued for its leaves and oily seeds. Between November and March, mustard leaves are most fragrant.

On the pages of the Nutrition And You resource, a lot of interesting things have been written about the beneficial properties of leaf mustard. There are several cultivated varieties of this plant. The leaves are harvested when the mustard plant reaches about 60 centimeters in height. If left untouched, it can reach 1.5 meters in height. At the top of the plant, golden yellow flowers will bloom, in which the seeds are contained.

Fresh mustard leaves are characterized by a deep green color. The leaves are usually flat. They may have scalloped, ruffled, or "lace" edges, depending on the variety. Mustard seeds are a common spice.

Health benefits of mustard

Like spinach, mustard greens are a veritable treasure trove of health-promoting and disease-preventing phytonutrients.

Mustard leaf is incredibly low in calories (27 kilocalories per 100 grams of raw mustard leaves). It is also low in fat. Dark green mustard leaves are rich in phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. In addition, they contain a significant amount of dietary fiber, which helps control cholesterol levels by preventing its absorption in the intestines. Eating enough dietary fiber promotes the elimination of waste products from the body and thus provides protection against hemorrhoids, constipation and colon cancer.

Mustard greens - very good source Vitamin K. 100 grams of fresh mustard leaves contain approximately 257.5 micrograms of vitamin K-1 (phylloquinone), which is approximately 215% of the recommended daily intake. Presumably, vitamin K plays a role in the formation of bone mass by increasing osteotropic activity in the bones. It has also been found that in Alzheimer's disease, it limits the damage caused to brain neurons.

Mustard greens are also a rich source of antioxidants, which include flavonoids, indole, sulforaphane, carotenes, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Indoles, predominantly diindolylmethane (DIM) and sulforaphane, have an established anti-cancer effect in the breast, colon and ovary by inhibiting the growth of cancer cells and cancer cells cytotoxic effect.

Fresh mustard leaves are also a moderate source of B-complex vitamins, which include folic acid, pyridoxine, thiamine, riboflavin, and other vitamins. 100 grams of fresh mustard leaves contain approximately 12 micrograms (approximately 3% of the recommended daily intake) of folic acid. This water-soluble vitamin plays important role in DNA synthesis and cell division. Taking this vitamin during pregnancy may help prevent neural tube defects in babies.

Fresh mustard leaves are an excellent source of vitamin C. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful natural antioxidant that provides protection against free radical damage and influenza and similar viral infections.

Mustard leaves are also an excellent source of vitamin A (3024 international units per 100 grams, which is 101% of the recommended daily intake of this vitamin). Vitamin A is nutrient necessary to maintain healthy mucous membranes and skin. It is also essential for good vision. Eating natural fruits rich in flavonoids helps provide protection against lung and oral cancers.

Fresh mustard greens are also a great source of several minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium, and manganese.

It is known that regular consumption of mustard greens contributes to the prevention of arthritis, osteoporosis, iron deficiency anemia. The greens are also believed to provide protection against cardiovascular disease, asthma, and colon and prostate cancers.

Warning

As with spinach, reheating mustard greens can also convert nitrates to nitrites and nitrosamines. This happens under the influence of a certain bacterium, for which food rich in nitrates is a favorable environment. The resulting compounds can be harmful to health.

Because these greens are high in vitamin K, patients taking anticoagulants should avoid eating them because they increase blood levels of vitamin K, which these medications often seek to reduce.

Mustard contains oxalic acid, a natural compound found in some vegetables. In some people, it can crystallize in the urinary tract into oxalate stones. Therefore, those people who are aware of oxalate stones in their urinary tract are advised to avoid eating vegetables of the Brassica family.

Mustard greens may also contain goitrogenic substances that interfere with thyroid hormone production. This can lead to deficiency of the hormone thyroxine in people with thyroid dysfunction.

Nutritional value of mustard greens

In parentheses is the percentage of the daily intake. The nutritional value is based on 100 grams of fresh raw mustard greens according to information from the Ministry of Agriculture USA, listed on the pages of the resource Nutrition And You.

General information:
the energy value- 27 kilocalories (1%);
carbohydrates - 4.67 grams (3.6%);
protein - 2.86 grams (5%);
fats - 0.42 grams (2%);
fiber, which is part of food - 3.20 grams (9%).

Vitamins:
folic acid (vitamin B9) 12 micrograms (3%);
nicotinic acid (vitamin B3) - 0.800 milligrams (5%);
pantothenic acid- 0.210 milligrams (5%);
pyridoxine (vitamin B6) - 0.180 milligrams (14%);
riboflavin (vitamin B2) - 0.110 milligrams (8%);
thiamine (vitamin B1) - 0.080 milligrams (7%);
vitamin A, which is very abundant in dandelion - 3024 international units (IU, IU) - 101%;
vitamin C - 70 milligrams (117%);
vitamin E - 0 milligrams (0%);
vitamin K, an incredibly rich source of which is sage - 257.5 micrograms (215%).

Electrolytes:
sodium - 20 milligrams (1.3%);
potassium - 384 milligrams (8%).

Minerals:
calcium - 115 milligrams (11.5%);
copper - 0.165 milligrams (18%);
iron - 1.64 milligrams (20%);
magnesium - 32 milligrams (8%);
manganese - 0.480 milligrams (21%);
selenium - 0.9 micrograms (1.5%);
zinc - 0.25 milligrams (2%).

Phytonutrients:
beta-carotene (ß-carotene), which is rich in carrots - 1790 micrograms;
beta-cryptoxanthin (ß-cryptoxanthin) - 40 micrograms;
lutein-zeaxanthin - 3730 micrograms.

Some argue that mustard sauce is the only thing that is made from a plant that is often cultivated by ordinary gardeners. But there is also salad mustard - and not only the one whose seeds are used to produce mustard powder, hot sauce or seasoning.

Leaf mustard can be used as a fresh product for salads, as well as for preservation for the winter.

Vegetable crops are so diverse that you often get lost in their abundance. Modern gardeners grow salad mustard using different varieties while pursuing different goals. Someone likes to preserve, and someone likes to make fresh summer salads with a spicy taste. This plant has another name - mustard lettuce. Varietal salad mustard has differences from wild varieties: it is characterized by whole leaves and short stature. And now you can get acquainted with the most popular varieties of mustard culture.

Popular varieties

• 
  Mustard salad wave is a variety that grows early and pampers juicy harvest greenery. The plant has a voluminous and slightly spreading leaf rosette and elongated oval leaves. Their diameter is 32 cm. They delight the eye with a pale greenish color and smoothness. The taste of this salad is tart and spicy. The weight of one outlet is 80 g. From 1 sq. m you can collect 2 kg of waves.
• Freckle
  This variety is early, it gives lush juicy greens in a month. The plant grows up to 30 cm and weighs 170 g. This variety has large, slightly wrinkled dark green leaves with red veins. By palatability mustard is slightly spicy, the leaves are tender and juicy. Freckle gives from 1 square. m 3.6 kg of crop.
• Mushtarda
  This plant grows very fast. Greens are harvested after 25 days. The rosette has a height of 20 cm. In order to get more yield, mustard is sown every 15 days until August 15th. Due to the fact that lettuce leaves have a spicy flavor, it is used to prepare side dishes and vegetable salads. From 1 sq. m going to 3 kg.

• Mustang
  This variety has an average ripening period. The term of formation is 35 days. Rosette has red-green whole leaves big size. They reach a height of 30 cm. The socket has a weight of 60 g. From 1 sq. m you can collect 4 kg of spicy and juicy greens.
• lovely
  This variety gives a harvest very early, literally 20 days in greenhouse conditions, and if the ground is open, you will need a month. The plant has the shape of an upright rosette, its diameter is 15 cm. The leaves are pale green in color and ovoid, covered with a wax coating. They have a special tenderness and juiciness, as well as a pleasant weak spicy taste. From 1 sq. m you can collect 3.4 kg of lettuce leaves.
• Vigorous
  And we are also pleased with the Vigorous salad mustard. This variety is also practiced by gardeners. In salads with mayonnaise sauce, the hotness of this spice disappears, but it gives the dish a rich flavor.

Beneficial features

Surely not everyone knows that salad mustard is also an old doctor. The fact is that this plant contains useful components: ascorbic acid, magnesium, iron, potassium and many other minerals, as well as vitamins, proteins, fiber, mucus and mustard fatty and essential oils.

Mustard leaf contains few calories, so it is also a dietary crop and generally has a beneficial effect on the human body. Salad mustard has:

• anti-inflammatory;
• protective;
• cleansing action.

In addition, it is an antioxidant.

Mustard leaves tend to stimulate appetite, favorably affect the digestive organs, metabolism and help to lose weight.

Harm and contraindications

Although this plant is rich in micro and macro elements, and is also known for its beneficial properties, it is able to harm the body. Therefore, you can not eat mustard leaves:

• if there is an individual intolerance to the plant;
• with diseases of the gallbladder and kidneys;
• if drugs are taken that contribute to blood thinning;
• also while taking calcium;
• with an ulcer of the gastrointestinal tract;
• in the presence of severe heart disease.

It is not recommended to use the spice in large quantities pregnant women, otherwise swelling may occur. Nursing mothers should generally forget about this plant, as the child may develop an allergic reaction.
Salad mustard tastes like horseradish, lettuce and mustard sauce. It has a spicy aftertaste, so pickled blanks delight us with sweet and at the same time spicy shades.

Thanks to salad mustard, fresh salads from vegetables, fish and meat have a spicy taste and aroma. And its leaves are also ideal for sandwiches, decorations for ready-made dishes, they can be consumed with boiled eggs and put in soups. In addition, salad mustard is preserved for the winter and served as a separate dish. Delicious pickled and salted mustard lettuce leaves.

I welcome you friends on the site advice to gardeners. Leafy mustard belongs to the cruciferous family. This annual, herbaceous culture is attractive for its precocity and cold resistance.

In Russia, leafy mustard is grown everywhere. It was brought from China - the birthplace of leaf mustard, where it is still found in the wild. This mustard is also called salad, Russian, Sarepta, Indian.

Mustard leaves contain a complex of vitamins necessary for the human body, organic acids, macro- and microelements are contained in sufficient quantities, essential oil, phytosterols.

It improves appetite, increases the secretion of gastric juice. Its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic action has been proven.

All this indicates that the plant is very beneficial for human health. Therefore, the cultivation of leaf mustard on garden plot desirable.

Mustard uses and medicinal properties

This crop is grown both in greenhouses and in open ground. A month after sowing the seeds, a large rosette of leaves is formed. The taste of young juicy mustard leaves is slightly sharp and at the same time delicate, reminiscent of mustard.

Appetizing, with a slight bitterness, they are used to prepare the first green salads and as a side dish for meat and fish.

AT Food Industry Mustard powder is widely used as an emulsifier in the production of various sauces and mayonnaises.
Leaf mustard is harvested for the future, salting and preserving its vigorous stems.

Mustard seeds have long been used in traditional medicine. They are crushed and diluted warm water until the thickness of the gruel. This mixture is used as compresses and rubs for various ailments.

Compresses help with bronchitis, pneumonia, rheumatism, sciatica. Rubbing is used for rheumatic pains. Baths with the use of mustard powder are effective, which help to improve blood circulation, facilitate sputum discharge in case of pneumonia.

With aching joints, mustard baths relieve pain. Foot baths help with colds, runny nose, sore throat. The pharmaceutical industry uses the seeds of the plant to make mustard plasters.

Features of growing mustard

There are no special requirements for the soil for growing lettuce mustard. It grows on any land, but a better and better harvest is obtained on loose, sufficiently moist, fertile neutral lands. Mustard does not grow in wetlands.

Ridges for mustard are prepared in the fall: they add organic matter (4 kg / m2), superphosphate (25 g / m2), potassium salt (12 g / m2). The best predecessors are considered peas , tomatoes , cucumber , onions , potatoes . Mustard can be returned to its original place after 4 years.

Mustard seeds are sown early, in April, or before winter in rows, the distance between which is 45 cm. The sowing depth is 1.5 cm. For constant greenery, seeds are sown many times, with an interval of two weeks.

The ridge after sowing is mulched with organic matter. Before germination, crops can be covered with a film. Growing leaf mustard in greenhouses makes it possible to get an earlier harvest.

When two full-fledged leaves appear, the seedlings must be thinned out, leaving 5 cm between the seedlings, and during the second thinning (the appearance of the fourth real fox) - 15 cm. To obtain seeds, sowing should be done as early as possible.

Mustard care and harvest

During the entire growth of the plant (25-30 days), the crops must be carefully monitored, since with high temperature and a lack of moisture, flower stalks quickly appear, the leaves coarsen, their taste deteriorates.

The beds with the plant should be systematically loosened, watered, fed and weeded in time.

Mustard is removed before the formation of a stem, at a plant height of about 10 cm, pulling out the plant completely. Stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment.

The seed plants are harvested when the seeds are fully ripe. Cut plants ripen under a canopy, then threshed. Store the seeds in a cool place, in tightly closed jars.

mustard pests

In hot and dry weather, plants are damaged cruciferous flea, rapeseed flower beetle and oriental mustard leaf beetle.

The use of pesticides on crops of lettuce mustard is unacceptable, you need to use folk methods: plant a lettuce or lettuce nearby; water the plant with tobacco infusion; pollinate with tobacco dust and dry wood ash; timely destroy weeds.

If necessary, the plants are pollinated with a mixture of hexachloran and TMTD fungicide (1: 1). In prolonged cold weather, the plant is affected by white rust.

The only way to deal with it is to burn the remains of the plant in order to destroy all the spores of the fungus.