A love affair with mustard . . .

I did not know how easy it really was to grow mustard and to make prepared mustard until recently!

The leaves of the young plants are fabulous in salads, with lightly cooked greens and in omelets. I try to keep some mustard coming along all year. It grows in the greenhouse most of the winter. The seeds are easy to germinate and to harvest for prepared mustard. Use the seeds for sprouts too! And for healing the outside in foot baths and the 'old fashion' mustard plaster.

The mustard shown is Red Mustard (Brassica juncea) from Johnny's Selected Seeds as a fall crop growing out in the garden.

More than a Condiment

... the plant’s seeds, leaves and roots have been used as food, fertilizer, seasoning and medicine for millennia. Every part of the plant can be and has been used throughout history.

For centuries, people have eaten young mustard greens in salads. Loaded with vitamin A, mustard greens also are an excellent source of calcium and vitamin C. ...

Reputation for Healing

As medicine, mustard musters up more than 40 restorative properties, from poultices and plasters to infusions, baths, liniments and antiseptic solutions. ... Before the advent of aspirin, people made mustard plasters (also called poultices) and applied them to the body to relieve aches and pains. They also used mustard in baths (for the feet or the entire body) to increase blood flow to inflamed tissues.

More recently, James Duke, Ph.D., in his book The Green Pharmacy (Rodale, 1997) suggests using a mustard plaster, made by mixing 4 ounces of ground seed with warm water, for fingers affected with Raynaud’s disease, as well as for sciatica.

For the complete article go to Herb Companion

Special gifts from the heart & garden . . .

My favorite

A loaf of homemade bread - fresh from the oven packaged in a brown bag with a simple tag is a wonderful gift for neighbors and family. When my children were young and the budget tight we loved making the bread and carrying it door to door.


Other ideas

A collection of herb vinegar, prepared mustard and prepared horseradish - all easy to do and fun for the family to do together.

Hand sanitizer, healing salve, body lotion, bath salts or hand and body exfoliator, any one of which would make a great gift idea for teachers and others who have helped you throughout the year.

If you need herbs or containers Mountain Rose has a wide variety . You will find lots of excellent information, for example:

Sweet Almond Oil

• This is one of the most useful, practical, and commonly used oils. It is great for all skin types as an acting emollient and is best known for its ability to soften, soothe, and re-condition the skin. It is truly marvelous as a carrier oil and is equally superb for addition to body care products. Natural expeller pressed oil from raw almond kernels and exceptionally rich in fatty acids.

• Profile: Botanical Name- Prunus dulcis, Origin- USA, Extraction- Expeller pressed/Partially Refined, Shelf life- 12-14 months, Kosher Certified- No, Notes- Stores well under any condition but extreme heat will lessen the shelf life. This variety of Almond oil is slightly darker in color and richer in scent when compared to what is currently being offered on the market because of its partially refined nature. For cosmetic use only.
• Specifications: Color- Golden, Odor- Faint and characteristic, Free Fatty Acids- 0.1, Peroxide Value- 0.4, Non-Saponifiables- 0.5, Saponification Value-191, Iodine Value- 99, Specific Gravity- 0.915, pH- 4.63
• Fatty Acids: Oleic- 68.4%, Palmitic- 4.8%, Linoleic- 22.4%, Linolenic- 0.1%, Stearic- 2.8%

On collecting mustard seeds . . .

The seeds are small. You might want to do your seed collecting over a jellyroll pan. This photo shows the seed pod with one of its two sides peeled off and the center where the seeds are held. There are seeds on both sides of the center piece. It is easy to break the sides off at the stem end and let the seeds fall into the pan.

You can just crush up the whole plant but you will then have to separate the chaff from the seed. The seeds were too large to go through my sieve so this time I am doing the pods individually.

Make your own mustard . . .

There are several red mustard (Brassica juncea) plants still producing - an excellent taste booster in salads! Today I harvested the plants that have gone to seed. They make a very interesting addition to a dried flower arrangement but this year the seeds will be made into mustard.

While looking for a homemade mustard recipe (and also checking to be sure the Brassica juncea seeds would be good to use in a mustard) I found an interesting blog My New Roots by Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP, RNCP) where you will find lots of interesting and healthy-for-you recipes.

DIY Gourmet Mustard recipe


On the Whole Foods site there is some very interesting information on the benefits of mustard seeds - worth reading!

A few of the nutrients in mustard seeds:

• selenium
• tryptophan
• omega 3 fatty acids
• phosphorus
• manganese
• magnesium

More on crop rotation . . .

Some garden experts recommend a 3 year crop rotation plan, others suggest 4 years.

Alliaceae (Onion Family) = Onion, garlic, leek, shallot, chive
Apiaceae (Carrot Family) = Carrot, parsnip, parsley, celery
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) = Lettuce, endive, salsify, Jerusalem artichoke
Brassicaceae (Mustard Family) = Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, turnip, radish, Chinese cabbage, kale, collards, rutabaga
Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot Family) = Beet, Swiss chard, spinach
Convolvulaceae (Bindweed Family) = Sweet potato
Cucurbitaceae (Gourd Family) = Cucumber, muskmelon, watermelon, squash, pumpkin, gourd
Fabaceae (Pea Family) = Garden pea, snap bean, lima bean, soybean
Malvaceae (Mallow Family) = Okra
Poaceae (Grass Family) = Sweet corn, popcorn, ornamental corn
Solanaceae (Nightshade Family) = Tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato, husk tomato