When is the best time to plant mustard greens
Today, the editor will introduce the best time to plant mustard greens and related knowledge about mustard green planting time and techniques. Let's follow the editor and take a look!
Mustard greens are annual herbaceous plants of the Brassicaceae family, cultivated in various parts of the country. There are different varieties of mustard greens in different regions, including leaf mustard, stem mustard, and root mustard. Leaf mustard is called "spinach" in Guizhou and "bitter vegetable" in Yunnan. The leaf mustard varieties planted here include cockscomb spinach and common spinach. Cockscomb spinach is a unique vegetable variety in the county, with elliptical leaves, thick leaf flesh, wrinkled leaf surface, and leaves as crown-like as a rooster. The leaf stalks are thin, the leaves are green, with more leaves and less stems, low mustard flavor, making it the best vegetable for making "Lian Zha Lao" during the transition from spring to summer in Dafang. Cockscomb spinach grows slowly, with a single leaf weight of 0.5 to 1 kilogram. This type of mustard green is planted by few farmers, commanding a high market price, generally double that of common spinach. Common spinach has tall plants, wide leaves, flat or nearly round leaf stalks, long elliptical leaves, thick leaf flesh, wavy or blunt-toothed leaf edges, few splits, and wrinkled leaf surface. The leaves are green. The stem is tender, with a mild spicy taste, good quality, strong adaptability, and a harvesting period from March to April. It yields high and is good for making pickled vegetables and salted vegetables. Mustard greens are mainly used to make pickled vegetables, which are a major local specialty. The main ingredient is mustard green, which is washed, boiled for 2-3 minutes, filtered, and then pressed dry before being placed in jars. Add boiling surface broth and a little acid starter, seal for 7 to 8 hours, and it's ready. When eaten, add it to bean soup and season with chili paste, litsea cubebs, and scallions for a delicious taste. It has the effect of refreshing the mouth, quenching thirst, aids digestion, and boosting energy. Pickled vegetables are the most common dish for Dafang people. As the saying goes, "If Dafang people don't eat sour food for three days, they will stagger when walking."
Mustard greens are divided into leaf mustard, stem mustard, and root mustard. Leaf mustard includes varieties such as cockscomb spinach, large-leaf spinach, flowering bitter vegetable, and pouch spinach. Stem mustard includes types such as pickled mustard and child vegetable. Root mustard is mainly turnip.
I. Sowing Time: Sowing times vary from place to place, generally in October to November. Southern regions can sow throughout the year, mainly in autumn, while northern regions sow in spring. For example, in Guizhou Province, the suitable planting times for mustard greens are: for leaf mustard, direct sowing or seedling transplantation from July to October. For stem mustard, seedling transplantation in September to October, and for root mustard, direct sowing or seedling transplantation in August to October.
II. Planting Methods
1. Seedling raising: Mustard greens can be directly sown or transplanted. Most regions use seedling transplantation because it is easier to manage during the seedling stage, with higher survival rates, taller plants, better vegetable quality, and higher yields. Seedbed preparation and sowing: Choose a fertile, moist, and well-ventilated area as the seedbed. Apply 1500 kg of human waste per mu, deeply till the soil 16-20 cm, expose the ridges to the sun, then break the soil clumps and level the ground to form seedbeds about 130 cm wide and 16 cm high for sowing. After sowing, cover the seeds with fine soil and ash from burnt soil, then cover with straw, water thoroughly, and the seedlings will emerge in about 3 days, after which the straw is removed. Thin the seedlings once in about 10 days, and then thin them again every 10 days, maintaining a spacing of 5-7 cm, and applying diluted manure water at the same time. For leaf mustard, use 50-100 grams of seeds per mu, for stem mustard, 40-50 grams (for pickled mustard) or 70-100 grams (for child vegetable), and for root mustard, 50-100 grams per mu.
2. Transplanting
Prepare the land, keeping it away from vegetables like radishes, cabbages, and white cabbages. After harvesting the previous crop, deeply till the soil 23-37 cm, fully expose the ridges to the sun, apply sufficient base fertilizer, rake the soil to make it fine and level, and form beds 160-200 cm wide with 30 cm wide ditches. Transplant when the seedlings have 5-6 leaves. For early-maturing varieties of leaf mustard, the row spacing is 33-35 cm, plant spacing 25-33 cm; for late-maturing varieties, the row spacing is 38-45 cm, plant spacing 25-33 cm. For pickled mustard, the row spacing is 30-33 cm, plant spacing 30-33 cm. For child vegetable, the row spacing is 60 cm, plant spacing 50-57 cm. For root mustard, the row spacing is 45 cm, plant spacing 33-40 cm. It is better to transplant on a sunny afternoon, and water the roots immediately after transplanting, planting one plant per hole.
3. Field Management
About 10-15 days after transplanting, apply about 2000 kg of human and livestock manure per mu, mixed with 4-5 kg of urea and a moderate amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. In the initial stage of root and stem expansion, apply 12-15 kg of urea and 20 kg of superphosphate per mu. In the peak stage of root and stem expansion, apply 2000 kg of human and livestock manure, urine, and 7.5-10 kg of urea per mu. For seedlings overwintering, apply less fertilizer before the New Year and more after the spring. Keep the soil moist, till the soil, control weeds, and prevent diseases and pests.
4. Harvesting and Seed Saving
Leaf mustard can be harvested by peeling leaves or harvesting all at once when the leaves are fully grown and mature. For pickled mustard and child vegetable, harvesting can take place when the heads are fully expanded. Root mustard is usually harvested when the basal leaves have turned yellow and the root head has turned from green to yellow.
For seed saving, select stem mustard and root mustard with good head shapes, leaf mustard with large leaves, characteristics of the original variety, vigorous growth, free from diseases and pests, and consistent bolting. Strengthen management, and harvest when the seed pods turn yellow, dry them, and collect the seeds.
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