How to plant leaf mustard and field management techniques (how to plant mustard to grow well)

Mustard is a leafy vegetable, Cruciferae, and is a native crop in my country. There are many types of mustard, such as stems, leaves, roots, mosses, and sprouts. The spicy mustard we often eat, such as pickled mustard, mustard, etc., are root mustard; mustard, such as dried mustard and pickled sauerkraut, are leaf mustard.

1. Characteristics of leaf mustard

Leaf mustard is mustard whose leaves or stalks are eaten, such as large-leaf mustard, fine-leaf mustard, Chinese mustard, wrinkled mustard, and cabbage mustard. Its basic characteristics are that the leaves or stalks are thick. It can be eaten fresh or processed into pickles with various special flavors.

Leaf mustard is widely cultivated and very common. It is one of the most adaptable mustards.

2. High-yield cultivation measures for leaf mustard

Leaf mustard is suitable for cultivation in cool seasons, mainly in autumn. For example, the spicy mustard we often grow is basically planted in autumn with radishes and cabbages. In Weifang, it is harvested around the beginning of winter.

Now many varieties of leaf mustard have been cultivated, some are resistant to high temperatures, some are resistant to cold, etc. You can sow them in different seasons according to the characteristics of different varieties and supply them throughout the year, such as early autumn, late autumn, spring and summer.

Leaf mustard can be sown directly or grown from seedlings and transplanted. For large-scale cultivation of mustard, most of the time it is grown from seedlings and transplanted, which can improve efficiency and save seeds.

The basic steps for high-yield leaf mustard cultivation are as follows:

1. Land preparation

Apply enough decomposed organic fertilizer, cultivate carefully, make deep furrows on the bed surface, or make ridges for better drainage. Then sow directly or transplant.

2. Field management

Leaf mustard is mainly edible for its leaves, so how to increase leaf yield and quality is of utmost importance.

Nitrogen fertilizer is the main fertilizer, and topdressing should be done frequently. Generally, 5-6 times is better, and 2-3 times is enough.

For the mustard greens grown at home here, we usually apply enough base fertilizer and then 10-15 days after emergence or transplanting, we can apply nitrogen fertilizer in combination with tillage and weeding to increase the ground temperature to promote rapid growth of the seedlings.

In about half a month, as the temperature drops and the weather turns cooler, you can apply nitrogen fertilizer again in combination with tillage to promote rapid plant growth.

Some leaf mustard plants on the ground are cultivated for wintering. Before wintering in December, well-rotted organic fertilizer is applied to cover the plants to prevent the soil from becoming compacted and to keep warm and prevent frost.

After the spring of the second year, mustard enters a vigorous growth period, and topdressing is applied every half a month or so, such as urea, compound fertilizer, etc., to promote growth. For leaf mustard used for pickling, fertilizer should be stopped half a month before harvest to allow it to fully mature and improve quality.

For mustard greens grown for leafing, top dressing can be applied after each leafing to promote rapid growth and maturity of the leaves, and improve quality and yield.

The leaf mustard plant, also known as "fire mustard plant", is cultivated in the summer because it is in a hot and dry season, so it needs to be watered frequently to prevent drought from causing leaf aging, unfavorable growth, and reduced yield. Fertilizer can be applied along with water when watering.

Common diseases and pests of leaf mustard are viral diseases, aphids and cabbage loopers. Attention should be paid to the selection of varieties, with viral-resistant varieties being the first choice. Combined with the application of increased phosphorus and potassium fertilizers and aphid management measures, the diseases can be reduced and the quality and yield increased.