Moxie Gardener

Mizuna greens are delicious, easy to grow, and can replace spinach in virtually any recipe.

Have you tried any of the many Asian greens that have been appearing in seed catalogs for the past few years?

My introduction to Asian greens came from mizuna greens in a mesclun mix.  Mizuna greens are a mild mustard green with deeply serrated, lance-like leaves.  The young, tender leaves are good in a salad mix (hence their inclusion in mesclun).  The mature leaves are delicious virtually any way you cook spinach.

Last year I added a purple variety of mizuna greens to my garden.  Delicious.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds, http://www.johnnyseeds.com has the best selection of Asian greens, or any greens for that matter.  Their 2009 catalog devotes twenty-four pages to greens of all types, including Asian greens, specialty greens, lettuce, salad mixes, and mesclun.  Another thing I like about Johnny’s Selected Seeds is they include pictures of the individual leaves of most of their greens for easy identification in the garden.

Some Asian greens on my “want” list for this year include:

• Hon Tsai Tai (Brassica rapa) A “flower-bud” type of Asian green.  Hon tsai tai has purple flower stems and buds and a pleasing mustard taste that’s good in salads, or lightly cooked in stir-fries or soups.  Best sown from June through October for harvest from mid-summer on.
• Green Lance (Brassica oleracea) An F1 hybid, Green Lance is another flower-bud green.  Delicious cooked like broccoli or stir-fried.  Once the main stem is cut, this plant will branch out for many more harvests.  Also called Gai Lohn and Pak Kah Nah.
• Hong Vit (Raphanus sativus) A pink-stemmed leaf radish with a mild radish flavor.  Does not produce “radishes.”  Harvest leaves at any size.  Young, small leaves are an excellent addition to salads, larger more mature leaves are good for stir-fries or soups.
• Red Komatsuna (Brassica rapa) Red Komatsuna is an F1 hybrid leaf “green.”  Its red leaves with green stems are a stunning addition to your salad bowl.  More intense red color if sown in summer for fall harvest.
• Vitamin Green (Brassica rapa [Narinosa group]) If sown thickly, this deliciously different green will produce small leaves for salads.  Mature leaves can be harvested for braising or stir-frying.  Plants are slow to bolt and tolerant to both cold and heat.  Will produce a second harvest.

I could go on and on, but I only have so much space in the garden.  Will you be trying any Asian greens in your garden this year?