Food culture is getting better and more greens appear on our tables. One such wonderful salad green is mustard leaf, which is quite easy to grow and the benefits are obvious. Let's figure out when and how to plant this variety of salad greens.

Leaf mustard: description, useful properties

Leaf mustard is an annual, early ripening green crop of the Cabbage family, which has a pleasant taste and is rich in various vitamins. There are many varieties of leaf mustard, differing from each other in the shape and color of the edible leaves.

Contains beneficial oils used in medicinal purposes. A decoction of lettuce is also used for cleansing procedures in the treatment of the gastrointestinal tract. The liquid from the leaves is curative and is an excellent medicine for mushroom poisoning. Another quality is that this culture is a good antiscorbutic agent, as it contains vitamin C.

Varieties of mustard leaf:

• Red giant;
• Volnushka;
• sandwich shop;
• Prima.

Sometimes you can also find bags with the name "Mizuna mustard" - this is a Japanese variety of spicy greens, which is also called "Japanese cabbage". The taste of both greens has a characteristic pleasant bitterness, which is less pronounced in young leaves grown in partial shade. That is why it is often grown as salad greens on the windowsill - it, like arugula, noticeably coarsens and bitters in the sun, and in winter time sunlight significantly less, and the taste is more tender.

Leaf mustard: cultivation and care

Mustard salad greens are not afraid of cold weather, withstand up to -5 ° C. Some varieties of lettuce mustard grow up to 1.5 m, forming a branched stem. And since she gives abundant self-seeding, it is better not to let her re-sing.

The green culture is also picky about the properties of the soil, but prefers a neutral and slightly alkaline reaction, loves a moderate amount organic fertilizers. At a young age, her bush looks like a rosette, blooming over time, seed pods up to 6 cm appear on the tops. The seeds are very small and brown, and if they fall to the ground, they grow by self-sowing.

Before sowing seeds, soil preparation is carried out, acidic soil must be limed - add wood ash, dolomite or ground eggshells. The beds for sowing are fertilized with humus, in a ratio of 1 m², 3 kg of rotted manure or compost is applied. It is good to sow mustard after cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, beets and potatoes.

A green crop is planted in three stages, a delay in planting leads to coarsening of the plant. The first sowing is before April 25th. The next replanting of fresh plants is May 20 and last time in season - August 10. In strongly sunny days it is best not to sow, because the mustard will go to the arrows. The place to pick up is not very sunny, she does not like the heat.

Seeds are placed in grooves to a depth of 1 cm, it is advisable to leave the distance between rows up to 30 cm. When 2-3 leaves hatch, thinning is done, making room for good growth.

The crop is harvested when the plant reaches 12-15 cm - greens are considered ready for use in a month. It is necessary to water the plant twice a week, as a lack of moisture will affect taste quality leaves, they will become tasteless and hardened.

For better growth, the first feeding is recommended 2 weeks after sowing. Since this is an early ripening crop, it is necessary to fertilize only with natural preparations - EMKs, aerated compost tea. And if the bed is well seasoned with organic matter, then top dressing is not needed.

It is not necessary to tear out the sprouts with roots from the garden, just cut the bushes carefully at ground level, and let the roots decompose themselves. This approach brings considerable benefits to the garden - at the same time, the soil is enriched with plant residues, disinfected from the pathogenic environment, and there is a change of crops (crop rotation).

Flowering lettuce spring sowing begins in mid-June and lasts all month. It's pretty easy to collect your own seeds, leaving a couple of bushes to bloom.

Use mustard leaves to make healthy vitamin sandwiches, various salads. The seeds are ground to make mustard paste. Green culture is suitable for meat and fish. For storage, salad mustard is salted or pickled.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in growing lettuce mustard from seeds, and it brings benefits not only as food, but also as green manure - it improves the microbiological activity of the soil, sanitizes it from phytopathogens. Try to plant leafy mustard on your site, it really diversifies our table!

In fact, many people have never heard of mustard leaf ( Brassica juncea) from the family Cabbage.

These large leaves with scalloped or ruffled edges, warm aroma and pungent taste have a beautiful hue (from emerald to dark red and purple). They are incomparable fresh in the composition of various salads.

Proteins, iron, calcium and potassium, phosphorus, copper and manganese, vitamins A, C, E, B6 and K - this is not a complete list nutrients in leafy mustard.

The absence of cholesterol and saturated fats, low calorie content (26 calories per 100 g) with a good fiber content - turn this green into an attractive dietary product.

Benefit for health

1. Effective protection against cancer. Green mustard can play important role in preventing the most dangerous disease in the world. Many fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants with antitumor activity, but it is leafy mustard that distinguishes a whole range of similar substances acting in combination. In addition to vitamins, these are the following phytonutrients: hydroxycinnamic acids, quercetin, isorgamnetin and kaempferol.
2. Anti-inflammatory properties. fresh leaves have anti-inflammatory properties of amazing strength due to the presence of vitamin K, omega-3 fatty acids(alpha-linolenic acid) and glucosinolates (sinigrin and gluconasturtiin).
3. For the heart and blood vessels. If you are at risk for cardiovascular disease, be sure to include in your diet. Her greens work wonders!

Progressive research proves that mustard glucosinolates and folic acid effectively protect against heart and vascular diseases, lower cholesterol levels.

By the way, in terms of folic acid content, leafy mustard (500 mcg for every 100 calories) is second only to turnips.

Possible harm and contraindications

Mustard contains oxalates - an undesirable component for people with kidney and gallbladder problems. They also interfere with calcium absorption.

At healthy people the product does not cause side effects.

Culinary Help

Quite sharp and fragrant mustard leaves feel great in vegetable salads with the neighborhood of corn, beans and other leafy greens.

Americans love to eat them with steaks, and Italians make amazing pasta salads.

For example: chopped mustard greens, pine nuts, goat cheese and a dash of olive oil.

Leaf mustard is an annual salad plant. Its leaves with a slight bitterness are one of the most nutritious first green salad vegetables, which contain many vitamins and minerals, antioxidant substances. Given its low calorie content, they can be eaten as much as you want without worrying about calories. But, unfortunately, not many gardeners grow this type of green salad and do not know about its beneficial properties. Let's get to know her in more detail.

Mustard leaf or synapis is an annual cold-resistant plant that yields a crop in a short time. Already two weeks after sowing, you can get the first vitamin greens. It belongs to the cruciferous family. In the first year, the lettuce produces a rosette of leaves. In the second year, the seeds ripen, from which the seasoning of the same name, mustard, is made.

As a green salad, mustard was known five thousand years ago. It is believed that the birthplace of this salad culture is the Indian Himalayas. Although it was known in many other countries.

Today it is grown all over the world and mainly for its seeds, which serve not only as a basis for seasoning, but also for medicinal purposes.

To date, there are many different varieties of salad mustard with leaves. different shapes(smooth and wavy) and colors (from green to dark red). Young tender leaves, which are used as a green salad, are collected in a rosette, the height of which can reach up to 60 centimeters. With further development, the plant can grow up to 1-1.5 meters with further development peduncles and seed maturation.

Mustard leaf useful properties

Looking at this type of leafy green lettuce, you can see that it is actually very nutritious in terms of the presence of biologically significant nutrients. Green lettuce contains a significant amount of:

Vitamin A;

Vitamin K;

Vitamin C;

manganese;

It is slightly inferior in the content of vitamin E, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper.

In addition to mineral and vitamin substances present in mustard:

Carbohydrates;

Alimentary fiber.

There is no fat in the leaves. It is found only in seeds, so the calorie content per 100 grams of greens is extremely low - only 27 calories.

All these nutrients are extremely beneficial for the human body and can serve as a disease prevention.

Dietary fiber lowers cholesterol levels by preventing its absorption in the intestines. They improve the functioning of the intestinal tract, thereby preventing the occurrence of constipation and, as a result, hemorrhoids, colon cancer.

100 grams of mustard leaves contain as much as 257.5 micrograms of vitamin K. This is almost 215 percent of daily requirement body in this vitamin. In addition to blood clotting, this vitamin is important for bone tissue, plays a role in preserving brain neurons, protecting them from various damages. And this, in turn, can serve as a prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Fresh lettuce contains several B vitamins, such as folic acid, pyridoxine, thiamine, riboflavin, which are combined under one name - folates.

100 grams contains 3% of folic acid daily allowance adult person. Although not much, this water-soluble vitamin is important for DNA synthesis and cell division.

Fresh leaves are an excellent source of vitamin C. 100 grams of it contains 70 micrograms, or 117 percent of the daily value. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that provides protection against free radicals, viral diseases, and prevents scurvy.

Not inferior in content and vitamin A, which in 100 grams contains 101 percent of the daily requirement of an adult. Vitamin A is also an antioxidant, an important nutrient that is essential for the maintenance of mucous membranes. The use of such products serves as a prevention of oral and lung cancer.

In addition to antioxidant vitamins, leaf mustard is a source of other antioxidant compounds, such as flavonoids, carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, indole, sulforaphane. According to scientific research indoles (aromatic substances) and sulforaphane can be the prevention of cancer of the prostate, breast, colon, ovaries. They can inhibit the growth of cancer cells by having a cytotoxic (damaging) effect on them.

mustard leaf benefits

The use of lettuce will be useful for the prevention of:

Cardiovascular diseases;

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;

obesity;

osteoporosis;

iron deficiency anemia.

It is useful to include it in your menu when losing weight, as it has no calories, but a lot of nutrients, which are sometimes not enough with a limited diet.

Mustard greens are great for cleansing the liver as the leaves are high in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has the ability to literally pull toxins out of the blood, neutralize the effects of heavy metals, chemical substances, pesticides. It may play a significant role in cancer prevention.

The liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, which are needed to break down fats. While the liver produces primary bile acids, the intestines produce secondary bile acids.

Bile is needed for the digestion of fats, otherwise we will all suffer from constipation. However, it must be in a certain balance in the body. People with high cholesterol either produce little bile or have difficulty converting cholesterol into bile. This may be due to a high intake of fatty foods and insufficient consumption of dark greens, or a violation of the liver and intestines.

Eating green leafy salads such as mustard and other greens helps the liver to produce enough bile, thereby reducing bile levels. bad cholesterol. Recent studies show that mustard's cholesterol-lowering ability is greater when steamed compared to fresh herbs.

How to choose and store mustard leaf

Mustard as a salad plant is easy to grow even at home. But if this is not possible, then when buying on the market, first of all, you need to pay attention to the freshness of the leaves. They should be evenly colored, without light or dark spots, signs of damage. Light or yellow leaves may indicate that they have been collected for a long time. There is no benefit in this salad.

Lettuce should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days. It is better to wash the leaves immediately, dry them and transfer them to a container with a lid. In general, any fresh herbs are best consumed immediately. Then you can get maximum amount beneficial nutrients.

Mustard leaf use in cooking

Mustard is grown in many countries as a salad plant and is used to obtain seeds from which mustard oil is used for other purposes.

Mustard oil is considered one of the best vegetable oils and is used in cooking, in canning, baking production. It is also added in the production of some types of margarine.

There are many ways to use mustard greens. Each country has its own unique ways of incorporating this nutritious, healthy green salad into a variety of dishes. For example, in Africa, mustard greens are added to fish. In India, it is pickled. Leaves are added to rice, served with toasted bread.

Wash the leaves well before cooking. cold water to remove sand and other debris. Then place them in salt water for at least half an hour. This technique will help remove pesticides and other harmful substances. Then cut off the petioles of the leaves.

Fresh greens can be added to a salad with other green leafy salads: spinach, fenugreek, and more. You can add garlic, onion, tomatoes, red pepper to it.

It goes well with cucumbers, apple, ginger, lemon, cabbage. Serving her to meat dishes from beef, chicken and other poultry, bacon, pork. Mustard is added to soups and green borscht. Lots of options. The spicy taste of mustard combined with the more moderate flavor and aroma of other vegetables and salads can give a dish a balanced flavor. Not everyone likes mustard precisely because of its spicy-spicy taste. Compared to other green salads, it is more spicy. To soften its taste, you can add greens with a mild or neutral taste.

Instead of boiling, the leaves are best roasted or steamed.

Mustard leaf contraindications and harm

Like spinach, reheating cooked mustard can cause nitrates to convert to nitrites and nitrosamines. This may be harmful to health.

Mustard should be avoided by people who are taking blood thinning medications, as it increases the concentration of vitamin K.

Like spinach, mustard leaves contain oxalic acid, which can crystallize as oxalate stones. People who suffer from kidney stones or bladder its use should be avoided.

What are useful and harmful green leafy salads

The benefits and harms of mustard leaf

We are all used to referring to mustard as a brown mass known for its spicy taste. But, some of us are also aware of mustard leaf, which is a very useful product. So, it has large leaves, the edges of which have a jagged surface, and the taste of these leaves is very warm and fragrant, naturally, with a sharp aftertaste. More interestingly, leaf mustard can and should be consumed fresh along with salads, adding to other dishes, and so on.

Leafy mustard has many health benefits and medicinal applications which you will read about in this article. You will also find out what the harm and danger of this product may be.

Nutritional properties and calorie content of mustard leaf

So, surprisingly, a leafy vegetable has components that are unusual for it. So, mustard greens contain proteins, which, as a rule, are absent in greens. In addition, mustard contains many vitamins, in particular, vitamins A and E, vitamin C and vitamin K, vitamins of group B - B6 and B9. On this, the useful composition of the product does not end there, because the mustard contains useful minerals, such as:

- and iron and phosphorus;

- To alcium and copper;

- m argan and potassium;

- c Inc. and more than 37 trace elements.

As for the calorie content, then, alas, it is low - only 26 calories per 100 grams of the product. However, given that leafy mustard contains a large amount of fiber, it is an excellent dietary product.

Useful properties of leaf mustard

Leaf mustard is credited with a large number of useful properties. Some of them are fiction, while others are true. Let's look at the properties that leaf mustard has 100%, so as not to mislead you.

Well, the first undeniable property of mustard leaf is the protection of the cardiovascular system as a whole. People suffering from cardiovascular diseases should not only pay attention to mustard leaf, but also make a whole schedule for using this product. So, it will reduce the risk of diseases, sharp or protracted, reduce the activity of chronic heart disease. Interestingly, mustard leaf helps to get rid of strokes, and in some cases save people old age and from heart attacks. Also, mustard helps lower blood cholesterol levels, and this is also important in the prevention or treatment of such ailments. And all this is due to the presence of unique substances in the mustard leaf, in in large numbers namely, folic acid. It is mustard that is one of the largest sources of this substance, while yielding first place only to turnips.

Leafy mustard also has, as funny as it may seem, an anti-inflammatory effect. So, fresh leaves of the product contain vitamin K, fatty amino acids and omega-3, which, due to their properties, significantly reduce inflammation of cells and tissues, respectively, of organs and skin surface.

One of the key beneficial properties of mustard leaf is considered effective fight with oncological diseases. The vegetable acts as a protective agent, helping to rid the body of spontaneous inflammation and the action of malignant cells. Antioxidants included in the product have antitumor properties, and it is in leaf mustard that these antioxidants have a 23% effect more than any other vegetable or fruit (along with Brussels sprouts). Among other things, leaf mustard is used to fight cancer, not only in its pure, fresh form, but also, it is part of medicines used in oncology. Therefore, often the composition of expensive drugs includes precisely enzymes from the mustard leaf.

In addition, leaf mustard has a significant effect on the outer surface of the skin and human organs - it promotes rejuvenation, helps with pain in the joints and bones, reduces body fatigue and increases reaction time.

Harmful properties of leaf mustard

Unfortunately, leafy mustard does not always have a positive effect on the digestive organs. It can cause inflammation and heaviness in the stomach, increase the concentration of salt in the urinary organs. Also, it does not always have the best effect on the functioning of the gallbladder. Therefore, if there are any problems with these organs, it is necessary to significantly reduce or completely stop the use of mustard leaf.

In addition, it can cause allergic reactions, so if you do not know the behavior of your body to the end, consult your doctor about how to use mustard leaf correctly and whether it is worth it.

More about useful products:

Indeed, how can it be superfluous in autumn, or in early spring greens on the table In the spring, nothing has time to grow in the unheated earth, and thanks to the salad mustard, we already have fresh crispy greens.

I prefer this kind of mustard. Because he

1) It is ubiquitous in the seeds of different companies. This is the most common variety.

2) This is one of the earliest varieties.

3) Absolutely unpretentious variety.

4) Cold resistant.

How and where to plant?

The best result is obtained by sowing in open ground. I have tried planting in a greenhouse.

It's great too. But just in the ground without any shelter, it grows better for me.

The variety is characterized by fast germination.

It also grows phenomenally fast. Even cold-resistant lettuce overtakes. About other plants is not comparable at all.

These are the big leaves after 3 weeks.

It's in the greenhouse. It's just faster in the ground. There is simply less light in the greenhouse. And this plant does not need heat.

Cold resistance. Minus 7 withstands with ease. Possibly more low temperature. But minus 7 is for sure.

What does it taste like? It tastes like a radish. A little spicy. I can't say that I really like the taste. It just appears on my table when you already, or you haven’t brought anything from the garden yet. Therefore, no claim. We are not Greece.

How to use?

You can just taste it with meat. With a barbecue, for example.

I love adding this mustard to a salad.

I think it's a great green. And in our northern latitudes she's not redundant at all.

By the way, even now it can be planted. Before severe frosts, it will have time to grow and you can have time to feast on crispy greens.