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James Burghardt
Brassicaceae
Brassica juncea 'Red Giant'
India Mustard, Red Giant Mustard
As the name suggests, ‘Red Giant’ is a large India mustard that produces impressive clusters of flavorful, burgundy red leaves. The mature leaves can be harvested as quickly as 48 days after sowing and add zest to salads, sandwiches and cooked dishes. Harvest after 25 days for baby greens.
India mustard is a fast growing, cool season annual or biennial that originates from Asia but has been introduced as a weed in many other parts of the world. It produces rosettes of large, oval, crinkled leaves. The reddish leaves are thin, lightly hairy and have wavy edges. It also produces a large, turnip-like taproot but this is rarely eaten. Warm weather causes plants to "bolt", or produce flowers. Clusters of four-petaled, pale yellow flowers appear atop waist-high stems. Crescent-shaped green pods filled with dark red-brown seeds follow the flowers. The dried pods split open to disperse the seeds.
This is an easy mustard crop for the south. Grow India mustard in full sun and well-drained neutral to alkaline soil. It will not tolerate severe heat or hard freezing temperatures. The leaves are most flavorful when nights are cool. Warm weather causes bitter tasting foliage and early bolting. The best planting times are early spring or late summer or early winter. Where year round temperatures are mild, it makes a great winter crop. To prevent self-sowing, remove the plants once bolting occurs.
8 - 1
8 - 10
A1, A2, A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Vegetable
Full Sun, Partial Sun
18"-24" / 45.7cm - 61.0cm
1'-2' / 0.3m - 0.6m
Indeterminate
Asia
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Well Drained
Clay, Loam, Sand
Fast
Average Water
Rosette/Stemless
Spring, Fall, Winter
Showy
Yellow, Light Yellow
Green
Green, Burgundy, Dark Red
No
Single
Yes
Coarse
Matte
Container, Edible, Herb / Vegetable
Sometimes
Butterflies
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