The brassica family (again)

Exploring the Brassica family and how many of the plants I grow is a topic I have written about here and here.  Last week I wrote a third piece on this group of crops, which can be seen in its entirety at feedthedatamonster.com.

(What is feedthedatamonster.com? A collection of researchers who write about interesting science-y stuff.  Go take a look!)

Bolted brassicas

Right now the greenhouse is filled with bolted, flowering brassicas.  Most brassicas have yellow flowers.  Arugula flowers are totally different in color - they are cream colored with red viens.  They do have the same number of flower petals and stamens.

Brassica florets are tasty when small, but once the stems elongate and the flowers open they are tough.  Last year I have enough tat soi flowers to eat in a stir fry. This year I let everything bolt.    Brassicas tend to bolt quickly in this greenhouse because there are so many plants in such a small area.

Varieties, clockwise from top left: wasabina, arugula, mizuna, tat soi, chinese pac choi, tokyo bekana.

Pak choi - a green for next winter season

I'm getting together a list of greens to try out during the next winter growing season.  Pak choi is definitely on the list.  The greens on the left of the picture above are variety of pak choi called joy choi (tatsoi is on the left).  Pak choi part of the Brassica rapa var. chinensis group.  Originally we didn't think it would be a very good baby green because it forms heavy heads.  It seemed to work out in the tray above and grew faster than the tatsoi!  The stems were thick and crunchy but the taste was mild.  Pretty much exactly what I want to be eating in the middle of winter.

The brassica family

Many of the greens I grow come from the huge brassica family.  By no means is this 'family tree' of brassica's complete.  It's mainly the greens I have grown, the greens I'd like to grow, and some other branches that are substantial/important.  Have I gotten anything wrong?  Anything you would like to see added? 

tree picture

plant profile: tatsoi

During last week's heatwave it took only three days for most of the brassica species I've planted to sprout. Three days!  Tat soi was one of those greens.  Until last year I thought tat soi, pak choi and and bok choi were the same thing.  Obviously then this is a variety of green I need to know a bit more about.

image from http://www.stonofarmmarket.com/tat-soi.html

Tatsoi is a another green in the Brassicaceae family.  It makes up the Narinosa group (Maybe - apparently there is some debate - see the comment below.  This kind of debate is typical in organizing plants which is why I don't study botany!)  It forms a head of compact spoon shaped leaves at maturity.  We'll be growing it as baby greens, not as a head.  It can be grown as a microgreen too.  It likes cool weather which is why we are growing it for the wintergreens project.

image from Johnnyseeds.com

Tatsoi is apparently really easy to grow.  I followed the sowing directions from Johnny's for baby greens when I planted last week.  In a few weeks I'm hoping for some spoon shaped leaves to photograph and eat!

vitamin green

*Edit 5/19 - When I ordered seeds earlier this spring I couldn't get any vitamin greens seeds.  Johnny's batch of seeds had some noxious weed seeds in it so they couldn't sell it.  I will be growing this green in the coming fall - it's still the one I'm most excited to grow!

*Edit 11/28 - I've grown some (and eaten some) vitamin green!  See them here!


I think gardeners all over are giddy with excitement.  It's the time of year boxes of seeds come in the mail.  I got my box of seeds in their clean white envelopes last week.  Tomorrow I am going to plant eleven varieties of greens.  Many are species you have heard of - spinach, kale and arugula - but some I have never heard of before.  So, I've done a bit of investigating. 

photo from johnnyseeds.com

The first green, and the one I might be most excited to grow, is called vitamin green.  It is in the Brassica rapa napa group which means it's a loose-headed cabbage-y type green.  They are a common Japanese green that grow vigorously and are cold tolerant.  The name vitamin green comes from their high vitmin A content.  According to Johnny's the "tender leaves are flavorful, but not at all mustardy."  On a blog I read that they are "sweet and bright with just enough bite to bring them down to earth."

I couldn't find much else about them, so it seems like measuring their growth rate (part of my next experiment) will be useful as well as tasty.  If you know anything about this green let me know! 

plant profile: tokyo bekana

Brassica rapa cv. Tokyo Bekana

Appearance - Tokyo bekana has light greens leaves with curled, ruffled edges that can cause it to be mistaken for green leaf lettuce. Despite its appearance tokyo bekana is in the Brassica rapa, or Chinese cabbage family and is considered a loose leaf cabbage.

Uses - Tokyo bekana can be used as a salad green or in stir fry's.

Varieties - I've only found one, but 'Fun jen' is a very (very) similar green.

Culture - Treat tokyo bekana green like any other in the Brassica rapa family. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in moderate temperatures between 60-85.  Once the seeds have sprouted temperatures a bit lower, between 55-75 degrees, is sufficient for growth.  

For baby greens seeds should be sown in 2-4 inch bands with 60 seeds per foot.  For larger leaves sow only 15 seeds per foot in 2-inch wide bands in rows 18 inches apart.

Harvest - During the summer baby greens should be ready for harvest in about.  Full sized leaves should be harvestable in 40 days.  In the winter baby greens can be harvested in 40 days (at least that's what I have seen so far.)  Tokyo bekana is a cut-and-come-again crop and will produce multiple harvests.  It has a good shelf life once harvested.

Pests - Like all Brassicas flee beetles are a major pest of toyko bekana.  Using floating row covers is an easy method of controlling these pests.  For more information check out the UNH Cooperative extension's page on flee beetles.

plant profile: Mizuna

Brassica rapa juncea

(kyona, shui cai)

Appearance - Mizuna is an upright green with deeply cut serrated leaves on thin white stalks.  It is part of the hot and spicy group of mustards in the Brassica rapa family but has a mild flavor.  It can tolerate both heat, humidity and cold weather making it a good year round crop.  

Uses - Originally, mizuna is from China but is thought of as a Japanese green that is primarily used for cooking.  Here in the west is mainly used as a salad green but as it becomes more well known its uses are growing to include stir fries and stuffing for raviolis.

Varieties

Culture - Mizuna is easy to grow and should be treated like other Brassicas.  Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in moderate temperatures between 60-85.  Once the seeds have sprouted temperatures a bit lower, between 55-75 degrees, is sufficient for growth.  

For baby greens seeds should be sown in 2-4 inch bands with 60 seeds per foot.  For larger leaves sow only 15 seeds per foot in 2 inch wide bands in rows 18 inches apart.

Harvest - Baby greens should be ready for harvest in about 21 days, depending on temperature and light levels.  Full sized leaves should be harvestable in 40 days.  Mizuna is a cut-and-come-again crop and will produce multiple harvests.

Pests - Like all Brassicas flee beetles are the major pest of mizuna.  Using floating row covers is an easy method of controlling these pests.  For more information check out the UNH Cooperative extension's page on flee beetles.