Mustard Seeds

Mustard

Mustard belongs to the Cruciferae family which is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean area. It was in India & the Orient that the forms we are familiar with today were developed including black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown mustard (B. juncea), & white mustard (Sinapis alba). 

Mustard greens are a popular culinary delight in the American South, & were a staple in many parts of the United States up until a few decades ago. We are not exactly sure why they lost much of their popularity outside the American South, but there have been times throughout history when the highly nutritious vitamin & mineral packed greens have sustained families exclusively. Ease of growing & unmatched productivity put mustard greens at the top of the list when it comes to plants that deserve a place in every backyard garden.

Seeds from the mustard plant are edible as well & actually seem to hold more popular opinions & see more use than the greens from the same plant. Ground & mixed with vinegar, powdered turmeric rhizome & water, white mustard seeds are transformed into the super popular condiment we are all familiar with, yellow mustard. Seeds from brown or black mustard plants are ground & mixed with vinegar & water to produce Dijon & other spicy mustard condiments. Mustard seeds are also added whole to brine used in the making of pickles.

Mustard plants are used in phytoremediation to remove heavy metals from soil. Mustard can be purposefully planted in contaminated areas such as hazardous waste sites to draw heavy metals such as lead & cadmium from the soil. Plants are then properly disposed of & the land can eventually be reclaimed.

Plenty of common insect pest can plague a mustard population, but often times nature takes care of the issue without your intervention. Aphids & flea beetles are almost always present to some degree. White rust is also a relatively common occurrence as well as downy mildew. The good news & the saving grace is that mustard greens are an extremely fast producer. So fast that most of the common issues that you are going to encounter don’t have time to cause enough damage to negatively affect the crop to the point of needing intervention. If a problem persist to the point of excessive damage to the crop, removal & destruction (burning) is the best corse of action. Replanting is much easier than attempting to salvage the planting in most cases.