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Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
  • Myers Family Heirloom Mustards
Myers Family Heirloom Mustards

Brassica juncea
$4.50
Description

A rare family heirloom from Mississippi that can be hard to come by! We acquired seed from Seed Savers Exchange in 2014 and have been growing it ever since.

Mustards thrive in the South during our mild winters and into early spring, and this one is a real standout. Plants can grow tall and vigorous, with showy, frilly, deeply textured leaves. It’s a truly gorgeous plant and one that almost always catches the attention of visitors to the garden.

The leaves are firmer and less tender than many other mustards, with a serious mustardy kick—think wasabi! We love it. It’s slow to bolt when the weather warms and seems to have better pest resistance than many other mustards we’ve grown.

When it flowers, it puts on another lovely show, producing delicate yellow flowers that are especially attractive to pollinators.
Product details
  • 100 seeds
  • 45 days to harvest
  • Seeds grown in Working Food gardens at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida and from Lost Valley Farm in Shiloh, Florida
How to grow

Mustards do best in cooler weather, although they can often ride out the warm spells we often get during Florida winters, and will last into the early spring. In North Florida, you can plant them anytime from August through February. 

Direct sow or transplant seedlings ¼ inch deep or less, with plants spaced about 10–18 inches apart. Although very easy to grow, they are generally heavy feeders and will grow best in fertile, healthy soil. Add compost or other organic fertilizers as needed, keep the soil covered with a thick layer of leafy mulch, and water regularly during extended dry periods.

They can be harvested leaf-by-leaf throughout the season. Pick the larger outer leaves while leaving the younger leaves growing in the center, and the plant can continue producing for quite a long time. You can also harvest the whole plant and they will re-grow after cutting.

If you eat a lot of mustards, consider succession planting—starting new seeds or transplants several times throughout the growing season. This keeps a steady supply of young, productive plants coming along as older plants begin to slow down.
How to save seeds

Mustards are very easy to save seed from, but there’s a catch: they take a long time to mature for seed—up to 7 months! This is much longer than the quick harvest time we’re used to with their leafy greens. During this long growing period, plants still need regular care and can become more susceptible to insects and disease. They will  become very tall and heavy with seed pods, so staking may be necessary to keep plants upright and prevent them from flopping over.

Brassicas are highly out-crossing, meaning they naturally prefer to cross-pollinate with other plants rather than pollinating themselves. Having many plants flowering at the same time helps maintain good genetic diversity. While you can save seed from just a few plants for a season or two, consistently saving seed from a small population can lead to inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity over time, which can affect the health and resilience of your crop.

Brassicas within the same species can cross-pollinate if they are flowering at the same time. Brassica juncea, to which mustards belong is a diverse group of vegetables and if you are growing more than one type and they flower at the same time, they will most certainly cross. This is only a concern if you are attempting to preserve a specific variety.

After flowering and pollination, small green seed pods will form and gradually swell, dry, and turn brown. Ideally, let the pods mature and dry on the plant for as long as possible, provided they aren’t getting excessively rained on or developing mold. If wet weather threatens your seed crop, harvest earlier by cutting the seed-bearing stems, or the entire plant, and bring them indoors to finish maturing and drying.

For long-term seed saving, we recommend having at least 20 plants flowering when you collect seed. More is even better! When growing specifically for seed, we often grow 80–200+ plants to maintain a broad and healthy gene pool.

If growing that many plants isn't practical for your garden, don't worry! You can simply let a few plants flower and provide a valuable food source for bees and other pollinators, then cut them back once they're finished flowering.

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