In the past, people who migrated from one country or region to another invariably brought seeds with them. This is prudent. But many times, the plants of one ecosystem cannot grow in another, due to temperature or soil conditions. Imagine the problems (hunger) that ensued.
The most valuable seeds at the end of a journey, I imagine, were those that could grow the fastest to some edible stage in a variety of new locations, proliferate, set seeds, and repeat.
Here, I would like to sing the praises of two modest plants, wild and domesticated in a broad range of USDA planting zones, that grow fast, and are edible (flowers, leaves, stalks, in one case root, and in both, seeds).
Applause, please: Radish and mustard. (See nutritional data, below,)
You might think: “But I don’t like radishes or I don’t use mustard as a condiment, so why should I grow them, even as a prepper?
In the case of radish, I will tell you: I rarely eat a single root. In the case of mustard, I only occasionally make the condiment. Why? Because the plants are so worthwhile for so many other tasty and useful reasons.
Radish grows in zones 2 – 11, which means just about everywhere. One seed is named “18 days” in French for how fast it grows from seed to edibility. I have never found anything faster.
Mustard, in various Internet sources, is reported to grow zones 6 – 11, as you might expect for greens associated with the Southern USA. But I do not understand this limited range. Maybe it is perennial there. I can enthusiastically attest to many years of reliable, healthy annual mustard plants in Alaska’s zone 3B. In fact, it is my most reliable salad green until late-July.
You can see both plants in the photo at the top of this article. The white flowering plants with serrated leaves are radishes. The Yellow flowering plants with lance-shaped leaves (lower-right) are mustard.
Other reasons why I love mustard and radish:
Pollinators: Both bumblebees and honeybees love the flowers of radish and mustard, so I add them to other flower and vegetable gardens to attract pollinators.
Flowers: The flowers are lovely, loose sprays of yellow (mustard) and white/pink (radish). The flowers are edible, too (not very flavorful), and pretty in salads.
Leaves: The leaves of both are tasty and texturally pleasant. I nibble them right off the plant. If you like spicy greens like arugula, you will enjoy mustard and radish leaves. However, radish leaves get leathery after they flower. After that point, you can still use them for pot herbs or dry and crumble them for winter use. Mustard greens remain as smooth as spinach and palatable longer. In fact, when the spinach (which likes cool weather) starts to bolt, the mustard leaves are a perfect succession plant.
Pods: When radish flowers, it puts out strings of pods which are delicious when young. Each string has 20 or so pods. They have the moist pop and texture of snow peas or bean sprouts, with a gentle radish zing. I add them fresh to salads and stir-fries and marinate several quarts for use in winter salads. They don’t freeze very well, blanched or not. Mustard pods also form, but these host only seeds. They are not tasty. However, each pod contains more than 20 seeds, so if you let them dry and break them up, you have plenty of seeds for various options, like planting or flavoring food.
Water: If you do not water the plants enough, like any pod, they will be pithy.
Seeds: The seeds are hard, tiny, round, cheap, and save well. I routinely strew last fall’s seeds into gardens. Of the two, mustard seeds are the more prolific and easygoing in my garden. Depending on the variety, some of the leaves are variegated and lovely as a ground cover.
Bio-mass: The bio-mass of their stalks and excess leaves are great for compost or for chopping up in the garden to decompose for next year.
Condiment: I have made mustard from my saved seeds, but I lack a fine grinder so the flavor was mild and the texture was seedy. Processed by hand, the seeds pinged out of my mortar and pestle. I need to figure this out because my plants produce so many seeds!
Dishes: In the first half of summer, my husband and I enjoy both mustard and radish fresh in daily salads, and also fresh in pestos, salad dressings, and mayonnaise-based aiolis. I have also cooked both as I would spinach – with butter/garlic/lemon/soy sauce combos as a side dish or mixed with other vegetables, pastas, and meats. Finally, I have dried leaves and crumbled them to add to soups and stews in the winter, but frankly, I do not think the flavor carries through. Some herbs and greens are better fresh and I think these are two of them. Still, when the radish leaves are leathery, I dry them and sprinkle the bits in winter meals. Why not?
Nutritional info: According to www.gardeningchannel.com (and you can do your own additional research):
“Nutritionally, mustard greens are low in calories but pack plenty of fiber and valuable micronutrients. Just one cup of mustard greens, measured raw and chopped, offers 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 6% of the daily value of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 8% of the daily value of vitamin E, 9% of the daily value of sugar, 10% of the daily value of copper, 44% of the daily value of vitamin C, and 120% of the daily value of vitamin K.
These mega-healthy greens also provide four or five percent of your daily value of the following: calcium, iron, potassium, riboflavin (also called vitamin B2), magnesium, and thiamine (sometimes referred to as vitamin B1). Cooking your cup of greens increases their nutritional value, making the measurements of vitamin A’s percent of daily value 96%, vitamin C’s percent of daily value to 22.7%, and vitamin K’s nutritional value 690%. (No, that’s not a typo—six hundred and ninety percent. .) However, cooked mustard doesn’t offer as much vitamin C or vitamin E as raw mustard greens do.”
And from www.healthline.com:
“Radish greens are the edible tops of the radish plant, and are commonly eaten as a vegetable in Korea and China.
A member of the Brassicaceae family of cruciferous vegetables, radish greens are nutritious and enjoyed as mature leaves, microgreens, or radish sprouts (3Trusted Source).
Per cup (128 grams) cooked, radish greens contain (4Trusted Source):
Calories: 70.4
Carbohydrates: 8.3 grams
Protein: 4.5 grams
Fat: 3.5 grams
Fiber: 2.3 grams
Potassium: 16% daily value
Magnesium: 28% daily value
Iron: 7% daily value
Vitamin C: 77% daily value
Vitamin K: 171% daily value
Radish greens are low in calories but are a good source of protein, iron, and potassium. They are also rich in magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin K.”
In conclusion, I fell in love with mustard when I saw hundreds of acres beautifully yellow in northern India. The view was gorgeous. I never looked at a bottle of that condiment (which probably developed and traveled from India throughout the British world) the same way since. And now that I grow the plant and enjoy it in so many ways every year, it teaches me to take nothing for granted. Mustard and radish, so underrated, are two of my favorite plants to grow for beauty, texture, flavor, and nutrition.
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Mrs. Alaska postes her informative blog at: Alaskauu1.blogspot.com