When is the best month to sow mustard greens
Let's talk about the best month to sow mustard greens and some knowledge about the planting time and methods of mustard greens, let's understand together.
Mustard greens are annual herbaceous plants of the Cruciferae Brassica genus. They are cultivated in various parts of the country, with different varieties in each region. Mustard greens can be divided into leafy, stem, and root types. Leafy mustard greens are called "spinach" in Guizhou and "bitter vegetables" in Yunnan. The leafy mustard greens 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, resembling a rooster's comb, thin petioles, green leaves, more leaves than stems, and low mustard flavor. It is the best vegetable for making Lianzha Laowei during the transition from spring to summer in Dafang. Cockscomb spinach grows slowly, with a single leaf weight of 0.5 to 1 kilogram. There are few farmers planting this type of mustard greens, and the market price is high, usually more than twice that of common spinach. Common spinach has tall plants, wide leaves, flat or nearly round petioles, long elliptical leaves, thick leaf flesh, wavy or blunt-toothed leaf edges, few splits, and wrinkled leaf surface. The leaves are green. The stems are tender, with a light spicy taste, good quality, and strong adaptability. The harvest period is from March to April, with high yield. It is a good material for making pickled vegetables. Mustard greens are mainly used to make pickled vegetables, which are a major local specialty. The main ingredient is mustard greens, washed and boiled for 2-3 minutes, then drained and placed in jars, adding boiling surface broth and a little acid culture, sealed for 7 or 8 hours. When eaten, add it to the bean soup, seasoned with chili peppers, litsea flowers, and scallion leaves, which tastes delicious, and has the effects of stimulating saliva, quenching thirst, and improving appetite. Pickled vegetables are the most common dish for Dafang people. There is a saying that Dafang people "can't go without sour food for three days."
Mustard greens are divided into leafy, stem, and root types. Leafy mustard greens include varieties such as cockscomb spinach, large-leaf spinach, flowering bitter vegetables, and baggy spinach. Stem mustard greens include types such as pickled vegetables and erj菜. Root mustard greens are mainly headed vegetables.
I. Sowing Time: Sowing times vary by region, generally from October to November. In southern regions, sowing can be done all year round, mainly in autumn. In northern regions, sowing is done in spring. In Guizhou Province, the suitable time for planting mustard greens is as follows: leafy mustard greens can be sown directly or transplanted after seedling in July to October. Stem mustard greens are sown in September to October, and root mustard greens are sown directly or transplanted in August to October.
II. Planting Methods
1. Seedling raising: Mustard greens can be sown directly or transplanted. Most regions choose to raise seedlings and transplant, mainly because it is easier to manage during the seedling stage, with a high survival rate after transplanting, tall plants, good vegetable quality, and high yield of mustard greens. Seedbed preparation and sowing: Choose a fertile, moist, and well-ventilated plot for the seedbed, apply 1500 kilograms of human manure per mu, plow deeply to 16-20 centimeters,晒垄 the ridges, then crush the soil clumps and level the ground, making seedbeds about 130 centimeters wide and 16 centimeters high for sowing. After sowing, cover the seeds with fine soil and ash, then cover with straw, water thoroughly, and the seedlings will emerge in about 3 days, removing the straw. Thin the seedlings once in about 10 days, and then thin them again every 10 days, maintaining a distance of 5-7 centimeters between seedlings, and apply clear manure water. For leafy mustard greens, use 50-100 grams of seeds per mu, for stem mustard greens, use 40-50 grams (pickled vegetables) or 70-100 grams (erj菜), and for root mustard greens, use 50-100 grams of seeds per mu.
2. Transplanting
Prepare the land, keeping it away from vegetables like radishes, cabbage, and lettuce. After harvesting the previous crop, plow deeply to 23-37 centimeters, fully晒垄, apply sufficient base fertilizer, rake the soil flat and fine, and form beds 160-200 centimeters wide with 30-centimeter-wide ditches. Transplant when the seedlings have 5-6 leaves. For early-maturing leafy mustard greens, the row spacing is 33-35 centimeters and the plant spacing is 25-33 centimeters; for late-maturing varieties, the row spacing is 38-45 centimeters and the plant spacing is 25-33 centimeters. For pickled vegetables, the row spacing is 30-33 centimeters and the plant spacing is 30-33 centimeters. For erj菜, the row spacing is 60 centimeters and the plant spacing is 50-57 centimeters. For root mustard greens, the row spacing is 45 centimeters and the plant spacing is 33-40 centimeters. Transplanting is best done in the afternoon on a sunny day, and water the roots immediately after transplanting, planting one plant per hole.
3. Field Management
10-15 days after transplanting, apply about 2000 kilograms of human and livestock manure per mu, mixed with 4-5 kilograms of urea and a moderate amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. In the early stage of root and stem expansion, apply 12-15 kilograms of urea and 20 kilograms of superphosphate per mu. In the peak stage of root and stem expansion, apply 2000 kilograms of human and livestock manure, urine, and 7.5-10 kilograms of urea per mu. For seedlings overwintering, apply less fertilizer before the spring and heavy fertilization after the spring. Keep the soil moist, till the soil, remove weeds, and prevent and control diseases and pests.
4. Harvesting and Seed Saving
Leafy mustard greens can be harvested by peeling leaves or harvesting all at once when the leaves are fully grown and mature. Pickled vegetables and erj菜 can be harvested when the heads are fully expanded. Headed vegetables are generally harvested when the basal leaves have turned yellow and the root head has turned from green to yellow.
When saving seeds, select stem and root mustard greens with good head shapes, leafy mustard greens with large leaves, original variety characteristics, strong growth, no diseases and pests, and consistent bolting plants as seedlings, strengthen management, and harvest when the seed pods turn yellow, dry them, and collect the seeds.
The above sharing on the best month to sow mustard greens, planting time, and methods provides a comprehensive explanation, hoping it can help you.