Mustard is a vegetable crop belonging to the Cruciferous family. There are several dozen species of this plant, but only three varieties are used as spices - white, black and brown.
White mustard (White Mustard, Latin: Sinapsis alba) is common in North America and Europe. The plant is an annual, low (60 cm). Mustard seeds of this variety are very light, with a touch of honey, moderately sharp.
Brown mustard (or Sarepta, Lat. Brassica juncea, English Brown Mustard) in popularity ahead of both white and black. Moderately spicy. Mustard seeds are 2 mm in diameter, round, brown or brown. The Himalayas is considered to be the birthplace of the plant, although it is cultivated mainly in India. Russia “met” brown mustard in the 18th century. thanks to the Germans invited by Catherine II to the development of southern Russia. Among the first settlers was a missionary, doctor and translator Conrad Neitz. It was with his "light hand" that the mustard hit the royal table.
Brown mustard is now sold in powder form and as a regular dining room in almost every grocery store.
Black mustard (Black Mustard, lat. Brassica nigra), also called French, has a rather long stem up to a meter. Seed boxes open immediately after ripening, which makes harvesting extremely difficult. It is grown mainly in South Asia. Black
mustard seeds are the sharpest, but also the most fragrant of cultivated varieties.
This plant has been appreciated since antiquity both as a medicinal and as a culinary one. The unique properties of mustard are due to the substances contained in it, including minerals (calcium, copper, manganese, selenium, iron, zinc), phytohormones, vitamins, antioxidants. Mustard seeds are a real storehouse of energy and dietary fiber, which is very important for those who suffer from excess cholesterol, which is controlled by niacin (vitamin B3). Fruits contain flavonoids (antioxidants), lutein, zeaxanthin, carotene and many vitamins that fight free radicals (K, E, C, A), as well as sterols (sitosterol, campesterol, avenasterol, stigmasterol, brassicasterol), mirozin, sinigrin, acids (eicosene, erucic, palmitic, oleic).
Demand for mustard seeds is increasing every year. The plant is beneficial to grow both for sale and for the needs of own consumption.
Sowing mustard seeds helps to heal the soil, increase fertility, and destroy pathogens of diseases such as late blight, fusarium, scab, etc. They do not like mustard wireworm, slug, bear, pea moth. Sowing green manure, without exaggeration, allows us to abandon many fertilizers in the future, which is beneficial both for ordinary gardeners and reputable farms and farmers, because it is impossible to replace natural soil improvement with chemicals created on a chemical basis. Sowing mustard seeds restores soil balance in a natural way, which is really important. The plant grows soon and is able to quickly grow mass even in the cold season.
Mustard is especially effective when combined with legumes (alternating through a row). This is green manure, excellent loosening, structuring, draining the soil and increasing air intensity. The root system of the plant is able to penetrate deep into three meters. This quality made it possible to recognize mustard as a culture that protects the soil from erosion in autumn and spring (and if left uncut, in winter). It perfectly retains snow, contributing to the accumulation of moisture and reducing freezing of soils. In the steppes, where the winds are stronger and more frequent, the plant is sown among the winter crops (in rows).
As a forage crop, mustard is used in the form of green mass. Its value is close to compound feed.
Sowing mustard seeds is best done on previously cultivated soils, fertilized (the plant "processes" the fertilizer, making it easily digestible for subsequent crops), sod-podzolic and sandy loam. Seeds germinate already at +1 degrees Celsius, seedlings tolerate frosts to -5 degrees.
Mustard seeds (the price depends on the variety, on average - about 30 rubles per kilogram) is better to buy in specialized stores.