Japanese cabbage "Mizuna": how to plant and grow?

The beginning of the summer season is always the beginning of garden and garden work. Growing fresh vegetables and greens in your own area is a painstaking but pleasant job, because its result is always food that is maximally saturated with vitamins and beneficial trace elements. One of the new plants in our country is the Japanese cabbage "Mizuna", the cultivation of which does not cause much trouble.

Cabbage "Mizuna", which is also called "Mitsuna" or Japanese mustard, belongs to the salad crops of the Cruciferous family of the Cabbage genus. Familiar cultures such as white cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, broccoli belong to the same family.

The closest relative of "Mizuny" is Peking cabbage. As the name suggests, Japanese cabbage "Mizuna" was brought to our region from Japan. It has been cultivated in Asia for more than 500 years. The Japanese have long been famous for their care about nutrition, so there’s no doubt about the benefits of this plant.

Despite the fact that “Mizuna” belongs to the category of cabbage plants, it does not form a head of cabbage, therefore it is often perceived as a salad crop. Instead of a head of a plant, this plant forms a rather voluminous rosette of leaves with very long stems.

In addition to food, Mizuna is also valued for its beauty, so it can be used as an ornamental plant, but only because of its beautiful leaves, because the Japanese cabbage blooms are rather faded - with light yellow small flowers.

Another of the nice features of "Mizuna" is its earliness. The first harvest of fragrant spicy leaves can be harvested within 1 month after planting seeds. It is also frost resistant, withstands slight frosts in both spring and early fall, which is another reason to grow such a plant in the middle latitudes of our country.

The pleasant spicy taste of Japanese mustard is combined with high benefits, because it is easily digested and absorbed by the body. In the beautiful carved leaves of "Mizuny" contains a storehouse of vitamins, such as:

• beta carotene - positively affects the appearance of the skin and eye health;
• vitamin C - the main antioxidant in the body, which strengthens blood vessels;
• potassium and magnesium - positively affect the work of the heart;
• phosphorus - for bone health;
• vitamins of group B and PP - have a positive effect on metabolic processes in the body.

This amount of vitamins and trace elements has a positive effect on the health of the body, often Mizune is even credited with antitumor properties. Due to its low calorie content, Japanese mustard is an effective dietary product that helps in the fight against high cholesterol, anemia, heart disease and blood vessels. Due to the high content of cellulose "Mizuna" has a positive effect on digestive processes.

Contraindications for eating this culture is the individual intolerance to the components. And also this product should be consumed in limited quantities.

There are many varieties of Japanese cabbage "Mizuna", but in Russia there is a small variety. Between themselves, they differ in the shape of the leaves, taste and growing conditions. The most positive feedback from gardeners has received several varieties.

• "Mermaid". This variety got its name due to the special shape of the leaves, similar to the mermaid tail. Maturity occurs 50–60 days after planting seeds in the ground. After each cut, the shoots are restored in 1-2 weeks. The variety "Little Mermaid" has proven itself to withstand low temperatures, because it can be planted safely in open ground, and reduced gunning, since other varieties of this plant are best to prune in the afternoon to reduce arrow cutting.The average height of the leaves from the ground is about 35–45 cm, the socket is quite lush, it can reach up to 70 cm in diameter.

• "Dude". Along with the "Little Mermaid", this salad variety is quite famous among gardeners. Its leaves have a beautiful shape with large cuts. He is good for its early ripeness. The time between planting seeds in the ground before collecting the first succulent harvest is only 1 month. As well as in the previous variety, the yield per square meter is about 6 kilograms. After cutting the leaves are restored for up to 2 weeks. Variety "Dude" is particularly good for eating raw as an ingredient in a salad, and to decorate hot dishes, because the leaves are very soft and tender. This variety is registered in the state register of the Russian Federation, as the "Little Mermaid".

• "Emerald pattern" - This is another early variety, the technical ripeness of which is achieved 1 month after landing in the ground. It has a very lush outlet, in which the number of leaves reaches 120 pieces. The leaves have the appearance of sharp feathers. Productivity makes about 5 kilograms from 1 square meter. This variety shows resistance to the appearance of arrows.

Growing this plant does not require much time and effort, It is worth more consideration of the following recommendations for the successful planting of Japanese cabbage seeds:

• can be planted in open ground as seeds and seedlings. Approximately a good time for landing is April and May, but during the summer you can sit down the Mizuna several times;
• when planting, it is necessary to observe the distance between the rows of about 30 centimeters, and between the bushes in a row - 10 cm;
• seeds are immersed in the ground at a depth of half a centimeter;
• after planting the seeds, it is better to create greenhouse conditions for them: cover with a film until the first shoots appear, and when they first appear, remove them;
• the optimum temperature for planting is + 15–20 ° C;
• the seeds are cold-resistant, they are able to rise at a temperature of from + 3 ° C, and the shoots withstand frosts to -5 ° C.

Some growing tips will help make an already unpretentious plant even more fruitful and useful.

• Lighting. Some varieties of "Mizuny" prone to increased arrowing, so it is often recommended to choose a place to plant in such a way that the sun brightly illuminates the bushes in the morning. If you choose varieties resistant to bolting, it is better to plant them in sunny places.
• The soil. “Mizuna” prefers to grow in a nutrient, light soil, therefore it is recommended to optimally add sand and compost to the soil.
• Fertilizers. It is better not to use them, in general, especially organic fertilizers, since this plant accumulates all the nitrates in the leaves.
• Watering. Cabbage "Mizuna" is very undemanding to soil moisture, but in a strong drought, it is still worth watering it in addition to the bushes.

• Pests. All cruciferous plants suffer from one affliction - the cruciferous flea. The use of chemicals for this plant is highly undesirable, since “Mizuna” is a ripening plant. Therefore, we must try to cope with this scourge of folk natural methods such as ash or herbal decoctions.
• Weeding. After the appearance of the first shoots, the bed with Japanese mustard must be thinned out, as the bushes grow quite large in diameter. When the plants are still small, it is necessary to produce a thorough weeding. When “Mizuna” grows up, you can use a method such as mulching, and after that the question of weeding disappears by itself.
• Growing up on the windowsill. Cabbage "Mizuna" is very unpretentious, so it is easy to grow it on the windowsill year-round.Optimal use of nutrient soil with perlite to maintain the required level of soil moisture.

Most often, the growth of "Mizuny" cut off completely from the bush, after that there remains a small stump, from which new leaves later grow. The root of this plant is also edible; in the fall it can be eaten during harvesting. He tastes like swede. Freshly picked leaves "Mizuny", like any salad greens, are stored for long.

If you need to extend the life of the fresh greenery, it is better to pull out the plant with a large rhizome, In this case, the Japanese mustard in the fridge can stay fresh for a week. In addition to eating raw, this plant goes well with meat dishes and pies. As for the preparation of Japanese mustard for consumption in the winter, it is dried, pickled and stored in the freezer.

With cabbage "Mizunoy" you can cook a lot of healthy and taste dishes.

This unusual salad is one of the most popular Japanese mustard recipes. To prepare it, you should prepare the following ingredients:

• fresh leaves "Mizuny";
• two boiled eggs;
• pear;
• nectarine;
• a little bit of cheese;
• lemon juice.

All ingredients are cut into small pieces. The leaves of "Mizuny" torn hands.

The use of "Mizuny" as a filling in the pies is very interesting. So, in any recipe with spinach, you can replace it with Japanese mustard, which is even more to embellish the taste, since this green salad has a more saturated taste. The following ingredients are required to make two large cakes:

• pickled cheese (cheese) - 2 packs;
• cottage cheese - 600 grams;
• Japanese cabbage "Mizuna" - 700-800 grams;
• garlic to taste;
• puff pastry - 3 packs.

For the preparation of the filling, brine cheese should be kneaded with a fork, mixed with cottage cheese and garlic. Japanese cabbage should be crushed in a blender, remove excess liquid. All combine with cheese mixture. Lay out the dough on a pan, greased with butter, and lay out the stuffing, decorate the top to taste. Bake at a temperature of + 220-230 degrees for about 30 minutes.

For the preparation of delicious mix salad with cabbage "Mizuny" Ingredients such as:

• cabbage leaves "Mizuny";
• arugula leaves;
• beet leaves;
• avocado;
• Bulgarian pepper;
• red onion

The following ingredients should be prepared for refueling:

• lemon juice;
• honey - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• vegetable or olive oil;
• garlic to taste;
• salt and pepper.

All ingredients must be crushed, only red onions should be cut into large (rings or half rings). It is necessary to mix the ingredients of the dressing and fill them with salad.

It should be noted that the Japanese cabbage “Mizuna” is an innovation in Russian garden plots, but it is gaining more and more hearts year after year. After all, this unpretentious, very productive and tasty plant has enormous benefits for the body, not in vain in Japan, it is used since the XVI century.

About Japanese cabbage varieties "Mizuna", see the following video.