Need a little lift in your life? Need some sass in your salad? Discover mustard greens! To the uninitiated, we’ll explain what nutritious, spicy mustard greens are—and how to grow these annual vegetables in garden beds or containers.
About Mustard Greens
While many people lump them in as “greens,” mustard greens are quite different from collards or kale. Mustard greens are known botanically as Brassica juncea. An annual, they grow, flower, seed, and die all in one year. They are hardy annuals, meaning they can take some cold temperatures, and their flavor is best if grown as a spring or fall crop.
Mustard greens have thinner, more tender leaves than collards or kale. Their foliage can be many shades of light to deep green and purple. Leaf edges may be smooth, frilly, or lacey; some can grow large. Known for their spicy flavor, mustard greens are excellent additions to salads, sandwiches, smoothies, and juices. They are often cooked down and added to dishes to bring a shot of flavor and a bit of heat.
Mustard greens bloom with dozens of small yellow flowers. It has been listed as an invasive species in New Hampshire and Michigan. Many websites will list “mustard” as invasive, so search for the plant with the botanical name instead. While several plants with mustard in their common name are invasive, such as garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and wild mustard (Brassica arvensis), most states do not list B. juncea as an invasive. If you are concerned, remember to remove the flowers, and it won’t make seed and spread. After all, we want the tasty foliage!
