DELIVERY INFO: If you order plants today we expect to ship within 1-2 weeks. - See FAQs for more info.
Mustard Spinach – Komatsuna
(10 Plug Plants)
Really easy to grow
Great for sun or partial shade
Organic ready-to-plant plugs
Shipped within 1-2 weeks
£5.99
A fantastically versatile nutrient-rich plant
This is a Japanese mustard, used widely as a staple green veg in and around Tokyo. The mustardy heat increases as the plant matures, so use baby leaves raw in salads, or cook larger leaves as you would spinach or chard. It’s a quick grower, so keep cutting regularly. It’s fairly hardy so will keep going into autumn and winter.
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[post_content] => This is a very common sight for growers of chard and other leaf beet, like perpetual spinach. It is the work of the leaf miner, and it's not a disaster, so you can still enjoy lots of chard.
Blisters like those pictured are the work of the leaf miner, a fly larvae that buries between the top and bottom layers of the leaf and nibbles a tunnel which can eventually become quite widespread as pictured.
What is leaf miner?
Leaf Miner is a small fly that lays its eggs on beet and chard leaves. When the eggs hatch the larvae/maggots “mine” into the leaves and tunnel in between the top and bottom surface of the leaves leaving a trail.
When is it a problem?
Leaf Miner is usually a problem in late spring and summer when the larvae hatch.
How to recognise it
The first sign is seeing a small brown/white trail forming on leaves. Eventually the leaf miner will cause enough damage that the leaves seem to blister, with a pocket of air forming between the two layers of the leaf.
What to do
If you do see signs of it, it’s a really good idea to destroy the leaves rather than leaving them on the compost pile as the maggots will turn into flies and the cycle will start again. If your veg patch suffers from them it is sensible to grow any chard/beet leaves under fleece in future.
[post_title] => Blisters on your chard?
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[post_content] => We've had a few customers wondering when they can start harvesting their kale, spinach and chard plants, so we thought we'd share the advice!
Spinach & Chard
Around 2-3 weeks after planting, your spinach and chard should have fairly well established roots and hopefully the leaves will be big enough to harvest. We'd suggest waiting until the biggest leaves on the plant are at least 6-8cm (excluding the stalk) before you start harvesting from it. Using a sharp knife, scissors or secateurs, cut off the larger, outer leaves at the base of their stalks (this is better than trying to rip them off at the stalk which can damage the plant and you risk uprooting them!) Harvest only what you need, making sure you leave the new leafy growth in the centre of the plant so that it can keep growing. In this way you can expect to harvest from your plants right through summer and autumn.
Curly Kale
Ours is a dwarf variety, and it is better to wait until the plant itself has reached approx 15-20cm tall before you start to harvest from it. Again, use a knife or scissors to cut individual leaves at the base of the stalk, and leave the new growth in the centre to continue growing. Alternatively, wait until the plant has reached full size (20-25cm) and harvest the whole plant.
Cavolo Nero
Wait until most of the mature leaves on the plant reach about 20cm long. Then harvest leaves as and when you want to use them by tugging the leaves downwards to pull them from the stalk. Leave the remaining younger leaves on the upper part of the plant to keep growing. By harvesting a few leaves from each plant they should keep going right through to autumn/winter. Over time you’ll have a tall plant with a bare lower stalk and new leaves constantly forming on the upper part.
Red Russian Kale
Once you've got a several leaves on the plant (e.g. 10-15 leaves per plant), you can harvest a few of the larger leaves. Use a knife/scissors to avoid damaging the plant, and keep picking leaves as and when you want to use them. Harvest a few leaves from each plant and leave the newer, younger leaves to keep growing and you should find your plant carries on producing more and more through autumn and winter.
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[post_content] => If you're growing spinach or chard at the moment, or any other beet plants, you may notice some chocolate brown/purple spots appearing on their leaves. It can be more prevalent during warmer, wetter weather so the recent temperatures and general dampness in the air have been the perfect breeding ground these past couple of weeks, certainly here in Cornwall.
What is Chocolate Leaf Spot?
This is a form of fungal leaf spot that is more likely to affect you if you're in a wet but mild part of the country, like Cornwall!
What Can I Do?
It's not really a major problem, and tends to be more of an issue because it is aesthetically unappealing (you can still eat the leaves if they have a few spots on, and they will be better for you than eating pesticide-covered, plastic-wrapped spinach bought from the shops), but it's also not great to let it get out of hand because then you probably won't want to eat your leaves.
If you see any spots appearing, you can remove the affected leaves and get rid of them. Doing this will certainly slow it from spreading through the plant, and hopefully prevent it from spreading to other plants but may not get rid of the problem once and for all. Be sure to harvest regularly as well, as this will keep the plants from becoming too dense - having more air circulating around the leaves will help.
It will also really help to keep your plants nice and healthy - the better the soil, the healthier they will be. So, you could give them a liquid feed, or try some wormcast fertiliser or a mulch. It'll do wonders for their immune systems!
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This is a very common sight for growers of chard and other leaf beet, like perpetual spinach. It is the work of the leaf miner, and it’s not a disaster,...
We’ve had a few customers wondering when they can start harvesting their kale, spinach and chard plants, so we thought we’d share the advice! Spinach & Chard Around 2-3 weeks...
If you’re growing spinach or chard at the moment, or any other beet plants, you may notice some chocolate brown/purple spots appearing on their leaves. It can be more prevalent...
I think it (plant catalogue) is positively inspiring, the writing, the drawings, the design and the recipes are all absolutely spot on – well done to the whole team!
H.G
“”
Absolutely love the plants that I received. What a great way to package them! It will certainly help our new allotment along and make us look like real gardeners rather than amateurs!
April Keech, Leeds
“”
Thank you for my sweetcorn delivery, which arrived a couple of days ago. Looks great, it’s for the grandchildren to see how it all works.
I just wanted to let you know how lovely the enclosed postcards and how fabulous your plant catalogue is. I’m 65 years old, an RHS member and a keen gardener of old. I have never come across such a beautiful, thoughtful way to receive a plant delivery. So very impressed and will certainly stay in touch and promote your services with pleasure.
What is leaf miner?
