Herb Garden World

Native to Eurasia both the black and white mustard are annual herbs from the brassicacae family, found on waste land and gardens. Mustard is also cultivated as a pasture herb. Black mustard varies in height from 90 to 180 cm while white mustard grows from 30 to 90 cm. Leaves are cross-form, hot, biting. Both types of herb have typical yellow crucifer flowers. Seeds are long, narrow and very hot. Good mustard is a mixture of the powdered white and black seeds.

Both mustards prefer a sunny position and they do well on average soil, however, while black mustard likes plenty of moist, white mustard should not be to damp little lime is advisable on acid soils. Mustards are grown from seed usually at spring time with black mustard sown one or two weeks earlier than white mustard. You must water only to keep the soil lightly damp but not wet.

The tender young leaves are cut to be used in sandwich and salads. The whole seeds are added to curries, soups, stews, pickles and sauces Mustards are also used a) in herbal medicine as a remedy for colds, congested lungs, pneumonia, pains and stiffness. b) as a green manure crop, dug in the soil just at flowering time, returns nitrogen to the soil stored in mustard biomass and c) as an effective weed suppressor due to mustard’s ability to grow fast and its allelopathic inhibition. This is, chemicals found in most species of the genus brassica inhibit weed seed germination.

Mustard

everythyng herbal at herb-garden world

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