Mustard Greens

Brassica juncea 'Southern Giant Curled'

vegetable

Southern Giant Curled is an heirloom mustard with bright green, frilly, crumpled leaves and a bold, peppery, horseradish-like bite that mellows with cooking. It is a fast cool-season brassica, ready in about 50 days, valued across the South for quick spring and fall harvests. The curled type is hardier than broadleaf mustards and holds in the garden later into winter, while heat and long days sharpen the flavor and push it to bolt.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Dill — Attracts wasps that prey on cabbage worms
• Sweet Alyssum — Draws aphid-eating hoverflies
• Onions — Scent masks the crop from pests
• Nasturtium — Trap crop for aphids and flea beetles

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Flea beetles →

  Row cover seedlings, which are most vulnerable when young

• Cabbage worms →

  Handpick, use row cover, and apply Bt if needed

• Aphids →

  Hose off colonies and encourage beneficial insects with flowers

🌾 Harvest & storage

Pick leaves young and tender for the mildest flavor, or take larger leaves for a sharper bite. Harvest the outer leaves cut-and-come-again or cut the whole plant at the base, always before the plant bolts. Fall crops that mature in cool weather are usually the highest quality.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

A cooked cup of mustard greens supplies well over a full day of vitamin K plus a hefty dose of vitamins A and C, with folate, calcium, and fiber at very few calories. Like other brassicas it contains glucosinolates that are studied for their health benefits.