I can’t believe how easy “tendergreen” is to grow. It matures in about a month, when its tender leaves are ready to use in salads or stir fry. Its mild fresh taste is welcome in both our summer and winter menus. I am going to try to grow it year around in our coastal garden.
I wrote a post on Komatsuma mustard spinach tendergreen in March. I had found some seeds in a plastic bag in my seed box. Someone had given me the packet and I had written “Mustard Spinach Tendergreen” on it. I don’t know who gave it to me so had to do a little research before I planted it. Evidently the greens can stand low temperatures. With a little shade in the summer, those of you who live inland may have success growing year around.
With my first planting, the seeds sprouted within a few days and I had edible plants at a few weeks. When I went searching for seeds I was unable to find them at the local nurseries so knew I’d have to save some seeds from my first planting. After we’d used about half of the plants for the table, I tied the remaining plants up in a teepee shape to keep them from falling over and allow the bees to continue gathering pollen. It took a couple of months for the seeds to mature in their pods and to dry enough to harvest. In warmer climates I’m sure it would not take only a few weeks but it has been a cool, damp spring along the coast and seed saving takes patience.
As I cut the drying tops of the tendergreen from the withered plants to put them in a tray to dry, I was impressed by how similar this plant is to arugula. Arugula is also fast growing and has similar seed pods. Arugula is grown year around along the coast and has that lovely bitter taste. Mustard spinach tendergreen is milder in taste but the plant seems to grow in similar ways.
After drying (I had to put them in my garden shed to finish the drying process) the seeds were easy to remove from the husks. I’ll put the harvested seeds in my water heater closet for a month where they will finish drying, then into a labeled envelope for storage. I planted some tendergreen seeds the second week in July and they are already showing their little green “heart-shaped” leaves above the soil surface. Hopefully they’ll grow into greens for the table within a month. Gardeners are so full of “hope” it amuses me.
I have a spicy purple mustard that has gone to seed. It looks just the same as yours except mine is being harvested by the birds. It’s fine though, there are certainly enough seeds for all of us. 🙂
Spicy purple mustard. Sounds yummy! I wonder how it would do along the coast?
We’re in a coastal valley, at the foot of San Luis Mtn. I’d bet it do just as well for you as your other mustard. Would you like to swap some seeds? You can email me and we can trade addresses if you like.