Salad leaf (brassica)
How to grow mizuna and mustard greens
Brassica rapa subsp. nipposinica and Brassica juncea
Mizuna and mustard greens are quick oriental brassicas grown the same way: sow from late July to September, outdoors or in a cold greenhouse, and cut leaves from three or four weeks later right through winter. Timing decides success. Spring and early summer sowings bolt within weeks and are riddled by flea beetle, while late summer sowings in moist, fertile soil give months of cut-and-come-again leaves.
- Hardiness
- Hardy, a staple winter salad under cover
- Position
- Sun to light shade
- Soil
- Moist, fertile
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting mizuna and mustard greens
WhenSow Apr to Sep (Aug to Sep best); harvest 3 to 8 weeks later as cut-and-come-again
This page covers mizuna and mustard greens together. The planting detail below is for mizuna; where the other differs, it is noted.
Starting off
Direct or in modules every 3 weeks from April to September, germinating in 4 to 7 days at 10 to 20 °C; August to September sowings are the best, as spring ones bolt in heat. Sow under cover in September to October for winter picking, and transplant modules at 3 weeks before they stretch.
Spacing and planting
Sow 1 cm deep in drills 20 to 30 cm apart and thin to 20 to 25 cm for whole heads, or 5 cm apart in a band for cut-and-come-again. Thrives in a 15 cm deep trough or 25 cm pot, 6 plants to a pot, and in a cold greenhouse border in winter.
Varieties worth growing
Mizuna and mustard greens: what is the difference?
Mizuna (Brassica rapa) has finely cut, juicy leaves with a mild, faintly peppery taste, and it is the more forgiving of the two: slower to bolt, quicker to regrow and good raw at any size. Mustard greens (Brassica juncea) have broader or frilled leaves, often red or purple, with real heat that builds as the leaf matures, so large leaves are better cooked. Mustards bolt faster from spring sowings, but varieties such as Green in Snow are among the hardiest winter leaves. Grow mizuna for bulk in a salad and a short row of mustard for colour and bite.
- KyotoMizuna
- The standard green mizuna with deeply cut leaves and white stalks. Fast, mild and the best for repeated cutting.
- Red Knight F1Mizuna
- Dark red-purple mizuna that colours best in cool weather. Slightly stronger in flavour and slower to bolt than older red strains.
- MibunaMizuna
- A close relative with narrow, strap-shaped leaves and a little more mustard flavour. Grown exactly like mizuna and very good under cover in winter.
- Red GiantMustard greens
- Big, puckered maroon leaves. Mild as a baby leaf, hot and best stir-fried when full size.
- Green in SnowMustard greens
- The hardiest mustard, with jagged green leaves that keep growing in cold weather. The one to sow outdoors in September.
- Red FrillsMustard greens
- Finely cut, deep red leaves that look like a red mizuna but carry mustard heat. Excellent baby leaf for pots.
- Golden StreaksMustard greens
- Lime-green, feathery leaves with a sweet, mild mustard flavour. Good for brightening a winter salad mix.
Month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Pick outer leaves under cover, a few from each plant. Ventilate on mild days.
- February
Keep picking. Growth picks up from mid month.
- March
Sow under cover for a quick early flush. Overwintered plants begin to flower; the shoots and flowers are edible.
- April
Clear bolted plants. An outdoor sowing under mesh is possible but short-lived.
- May
Cut spring sowings young, before they bolt. Otherwise nothing to do.
- June
Nothing to do. Sowings made now bolt in the long days.
- July
First sowing of the main crop from late July, direct or in modules.
- August
Main sowing month. Sow every three weeks and cover with mesh.
- September
Sow outdoors early in the month, and in modules for the greenhouse. Start cutting August rows.
- October
Plant modules in the greenhouse border as tomatoes come out. Sow mustards under cover. Net outdoor rows.
- November
Cut or pick as needed. Stop feeding.
- December
Pick lightly and keep the leaves dry.
Feeding mizuna and mustard greens
Light to moderate feeders that need steady nitrogen for regrowth but turn soft and disease-prone if overfed. Feed while they are growing in autumn and spring, and not at all in midwinter.
A light-to-moderate feed for this quick cut-and-come-again leaf.
Feeding plan
A week before sowing or planting
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 g/m², the bottom of the label range, raked in. With rows 25 cm apart that is about 18 g per metre of row (70 × 0.25). In a greenhouse border that has just grown fed tomatoes, none.
After the second cut, if regrowth is pale and slow
Organic Nitrogen Fertiliser 13% N
25 g/m², the low end of the leafy-crop rate, scattered between the rows and watered in: about 6 g per metre of row at 25 cm spacing (25 × 0.25). Once only for mizuna; mustard greens still cropping 5 to 6 weeks later can have a second dose.
Pots and troughs, after the second cut, if regrowth is pale
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
2 g per litre of pot volume, the low end of the label, scattered on the compost and watered in: 16 g for an 8 litre pot (2 × 8). The label gives no interval for top-dressing pots: allow one more at least six weeks later for a pot still cropping, and no more than two in a season.
November to mid February
Nothing
No feed in the darkest months, indoors or out. Start again when you see new growth.
Signs to watch
Bolting in June from a spring sowing
Long days and heat, not nutrition
Sow in late summer instead
Pale leaves and slow regrowth after three cuts
Nitrogen short
A light top-dress of the dry feed in the feeding plan, watered in
Soft, lush leaves that collapse under cover
Excess nitrogen and poor airflow
Feed less and ventilate
Pests, diseases and problems
Leaves peppered with tiny round holes, seedlings checked or killed
Flea beetle, most active from April to August in dry weather
Sow from late July onwards, cover the row with fine insect mesh from the day of sowing, and keep the soil moist. Crops in a greenhouse in autumn and winter are rarely touched.
Seedlings disappear, ragged holes in lower leaves
Slugs and snails, especially in a damp autumn and in greenhouse borders
Raise plants in modules and plant out at three weeks, hand pick after dark, and water in nematodes in September.
Large holes and dark droppings in the leaves in late summer and autumn
Caterpillars of the small and large white butterflies
The same fine mesh that stops flea beetle keeps butterflies off. Check uncovered plants twice a week and pick off eggs and caterpillars.
Outdoor winter plants stripped to the stalks
Wood pigeons
Net the bed from October, held clear of the leaves on hoops, or grow the winter crop under cloches.
Yellow patches on the upper leaf with white or grey mould beneath, leaves collapsing under cover
Downy mildew and grey mould in cold, damp, still air
Space plants at 20 cm, water the soil rather than the leaves and only in the morning, open greenhouse doors on mild days, and remove affected leaves at once.
Plants stunted and wilting in warm weather, roots swollen and knobbly
Clubroot
No cure. Remove affected plants with their roots, avoid all brassicas on that ground, and grow these leaves in troughs of fresh compost.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Cut leaves at 10 to 15 cm, 3 to 4 weeks from sowing for baby leaf, 8 weeks for whole heads of 20 cm; cut with scissors 2 to 3 cm above the base and it regrows four or five times, or pick outer leaves. A plant gives 300 to 500 g over the season. Eat within 3 days from the fridge; it does not store or freeze.
Rotation and companions
Rotation: brassica group, 4-year gap on paper, but as a quick leaf it is usually fitted into gaps and under cover. Sow with rocket, lettuce, mustard greens and spring onions for a mixed salad bed.
Good to knowHardy and slow to bolt from late-summer sowings, excellent for autumn and winter cropping under cover.
Growing in pots
Both crops are ideal for pots. A trough 15 cm deep sown in a band, with seeds about 5 cm apart, gives baby leaves in three to four weeks; a 25 cm pot of about 8 litres holds six plants for picking leaf by leaf. Use peat-free multipurpose compost with Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6 mixed in at 5 g per litre, which is 40 g for that 8 litre pot. Keep the compost moist, because dry roots make mustard fiery and send both crops to flower. Pots raised on a table or windowsill see far less flea beetle and slug damage than rows in the ground.
Common questions
Why does my mizuna keep bolting?
It was almost certainly sown too early in the year. Mizuna and mustards flower in response to lengthening days, warmth and dry soil, so sowings from March to June run to seed within weeks. Sow from late July to September and keep the soil moist, and the same plants will crop for months.
Can you grow mizuna outside in winter?
Yes, established plants survive most winters in central England, but they grow very little and get battered by wind, rain and pigeons. A cloche, cold frame or unheated greenhouse gives several times the leaf and keeps it clean.
Are mustard greens the same as the mustard sown as green manure?
No. Green manure mustard is white mustard (Sinapis alba), grown to dig in, while mustard greens are leafy forms of Brassica juncea bred for eating. Both are brassicas, so neither should be grown on ground with clubroot.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow mizuna and mibunaRHS
- How to grow and care for mizunaBBC Gardeners' World Magazine
- Vegetables: growing for winterRHS