Plants→Brassicas→Red Mustard (Brassica juncea 'Osaka Purple Mustard')

The Osaka Purple Mustard is a beautiful plant in and of itself. I'd plant it just for the brilliant, iridescent purple color and the curly texture of the leaves. Second, when eaten raw, this plant gets hot (capsacin) as you chew it. The more you masticate the juices, the hotter it gets in your mouth...

But -- and here's the fascinating part -- while you get all the taste of hot in your mouth, your mouth does not burn! And even though your brain is saying, "my mouth is on fire," once you stop getting the juices, you realize your mouth is not burning!

It sorta reminds you of horse radish, and I imagine chewing a large piece would probably hit you just like a mouthful of horse radish (and, no, I haven't been that brave!)

Tiny pieces of the leaves would be great broken up in a fresh green salad.

But, the whole hot/taste thing doesn't happen once it's cooked. Last fall season I loved taking folks on walking tours of my veggie garden and having them chew on a tiny piece! They loved it!

I harvested the seed pods in April 2009, and would be happy to share with those who'd like to try them from seed. Just send me a SASE (Self-addressed, STAMPED return envelope). I'll dispatch the seeds until I run out and then I'll post that this offer is closed.

Linda

Send me a treemail if you'd like to send me a SASE for seeds, and I'll send you my addy.

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The Osaka Purple Mustard (Red Mustard) would be a wonderful addition to an edible landscape garden! The striking, iridescent purple and silver leaves would be spectacular alongside some Dusty Miller.

When the plant bolts and goes to seed in the springtime, harvesting is EZ. Simply allow the seed pods to dry on the plant. Watch carefully for signs of worms, as they will be hatching and looking for something to munch on. If they start attacking your Osaka before the seed pods dry out completely, simply cut the stalks from the plant and bundle them together. Hang them upside down in your garage to continue drying out.

When the pods are thoroughly dry, enclose the entire bundle in a large garbage bag. The seed pods are so brittle at this point that they will break open very easily -- you don't want to lose your seeds all over the floor! Once you enclose the stalks in the bag, simply toss it around a couple times, or beat it with a broom, or gently step all over it. The pods will crack and release a GAZILLION tiny seeds (amazing how small a mustard seed really is!!!).

Have a container ready, and cut a small triangle in the bottom corner of your bag. The seeds should pour out easily into your container. Shake it a couple more times. Once you think you've gotten all the seeds poured out, cut the bag open and pull the stalks out one by one, carefully examining for any that didn't break open. And, yes, there will be some that didn't!

Label your seed packet with the seed name, growing conditions, time of year, germination time frame, etc. and tuck away for next fall!

Enjoy!

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