How to Grow Mizuna From Seed

Mizuna is a fast, forgiving cool-season green, so grow it in the mild stretches of the year. Direct-sow in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, then again from late summer into fall. It handles cool weather and light frost well and is more bolt-resistant than many mustards, but sustained summer heat still pushes it to flower. Sow a fresh short band every 2 to 3 weeks for a steady, cut-and-come-again supply, and in mild-winter regions it grows right through the cool season.

Sow mizuna about a quarter to half an inch deep, right where it will grow. For baby leaves, scatter the seeds thickly in a band and plan to cut young; for full, feathery heads, thin plants to 8 to 12 inches apart. Keep the bed evenly moist and seedlings appear quickly, usually in 4 to 10 days. It grows happily in full sun or part shade, in the ground, in containers, or even under a grow light on a windowsill.

Mizuna is about as low-fuss as greens get. Keep it evenly watered so it never checks or dries out, feed lightly with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for lush leaves, and cut often, since regular harvesting keeps it productive and delays flowering. Watch for flea beetles and cabbage worms, and float a light row cover over young plants if pests appear. In hot-summer regions like the South, treat it as a fall-through-spring crop and give it a little afternoon shade; in cool-summer areas like the Pacific Northwest, it produces almost year-round.

Mizuna is a quick salad green that shares a bed nicely with other fast crops and pest-repelling flowers. These four make especially good companions, and you can add any of them in one click:

Mizuna is a classic cut-and-come-again green. Start snipping baby leaves once they are a couple of inches tall, or wait for fuller leaves 5 to 8 inches long. To keep a plant going, shear the whole clump about an inch above the crown without cutting into the growing point, and it flushes out fresh leaves within a week or two for two to four harvests before it finally bolts.

Mizuna has a mild, gently peppery mustard flavor and pretty, feathery leaves. Toss young leaves raw into salads, slaws, and sandwiches for a light lift, or add them to Asian bowls, stir-fries, soups, ramen, and pasta near the end of cooking so they wilt just enough while keeping their color and bite. Its delicate texture makes it a nice change from tougher, sharper greens.

• Bolting: heat and long days push mizuna to flower. Grow it cool, keep it watered, and cut it back often to delay bolting.
• Flea beetles: tiny shot-holes in the leaves. Cover young plants with a light row cover and plant radishes or nasturtiums nearby as a trap crop.
• Cabbage worms and aphids: hand-pick caterpillars, rinse off aphids, and keep the patch tidy and well-spaced for airflow.
• Tough or sharp leaves: usually heat or age. Harvest young and keep the soil evenly moist for tender, mild leaves.