Uses and cultivation of white mustard (Sinapis alba)

What is the difference between rapeseed and mustard?

Rape has a glassy (i.e. bluish) stem, field mustard is green. The visual difference is striking. Also, oilseed rape has kissing leaves, while mustard does not.

How to recognize rapeseed?

Grown mainly for oil and fuel, rapeseed, which forms clusters of small yellow flowers, is harvested in early summer. So there's nothing to see here at this time of year. Sunflowers, on the other hand, expose their large inflorescences to the summer sun.

What about rape?

Rapeseed is a widely grown crop worldwide, mainly in cool temperate zones, mainly for animal feed, edible oil production and more recently for biofuel production.

Which plant is similar to rapeseed?

Re: the cousin of rapeseed - Cardaria draba, passerage drave or wild broccoli, is the same plant.

How do you bury the mustard?

If you are burying mustard, do not go beyond the first 5 cm, both for decomposition reasons and to keep the harvest to a minimum. Then mix the waste with the soil.

How do mustard seeds grow?

If the plant lacks water, it quickly sets seed. The mustard then grows quickly and does not need any care if grown as a green manure or for seed collection. When the Chinese mustard has 4 or 5 leaves, keep one plant every 25 cm.

How to harvest mustard seeds?

Cut the stems and dry them upside down in a healthy, airy, dark room. Before the pods are fully ripe and before they turn brown. Lay a leaf underneath to catch any seeds that may fall out.

When to sow phacelia?

Cut the phacelia stems flush with the ground just after flowering and before the seeds develop. Do not pull up the roots as they decompose and enrich the soil.

When to sow white mustard?

Mustard can be sown from March to May and from August to September. Sowing should be done on all types of fresh, flat, scratched soil (2 g per m²).

When to mow mustard as a green manure?

At the end of winter, depending on whether it was very cold or not, some green manures (like mustard) are reduced to mere twigs. Others (like rye) are able to continue their growth even at low temperatures.

When to plant mustard?

Regarding seed production, the Larousse Agricole (2002) reports that white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) flowers 40-60 days after sowing and matures in 90-120 days.

What is mustard?

White mustard (Sinapis alba), long considered a weed in our gardens, is an annual plant that reaches a height of more than 1 m20, with leaves of 15 to 40 cm, whose appearance and resistance to cold vary according to the species.

How to use mustard?

The seeds are the most commonly eaten part of the plant, but the flowers and leaves are also edible:

• The young leaves are eaten as a salad garnish,
• The hardest leaves are cooked like cabbage: ...
• Mustard flowers are used as a garnish in dishes.

Where is mustard grown?

Canada is currently the largest producer of mustard.

What are the advantages of mustard?

Thanks to its vitamin C content, mustard helps strengthen the immune system and facilitates the absorption of iron. It contains vitamins B2, B6, B9, as well as calcium and magnesium. These nutrients are known to provide energy to the body.

White mustard is an easy to grow plant that has many benefits for the gardener. It can be used as a green manure to improve soil quality by adding nutrients. Its rapid growth also helps to choke out weeds and prevent their development. To sow mustard, simply bury it lightly under 2 to 3 cm of soil and water regularly until the seeds germinate. Harvesting is done when the seeds are well formed and can be used in cooking or saved for later use. All in all, white mustard is a practical and useful plant that deserves to be grown in every garden!