How to grow mizuna

Brassica rapa var. niposinica · Brassicaceae · Vegetable

Mizuna is a cool-season vegetable in the Brassicaceae family, almost always sown straight into the ground where it will grow. It wants full sun, though it tolerates a little afternoon shade in hot regions and steady, even moisture. From sowing to first pick is about 35–45 days. It handles frost well and a light freeze often improves the flavour.

Grower’s note: Feathery, mild mustard green that is slow to bolt and shrugs off frost. Excellent cut-and-come-again - shear it an inch above the crown and it regrows two or three times.

Sowing

Sow about 0.25″ deep, into soil between 45–85°F — germination is quickest near 70°F. It comes up fast (4–8 days). It does not transplant well, so sow it in its final position rather than starting it in pots.

Spacing & layout

Give each plant about 6″ along the row with roughly 10″ between rows. On a square-foot grid that is 4 per square foot. Allow at least 8″ of loose, workable soil for the roots. It grows well in containers at least 6″ deep.

Fitting it to your season

As a cool-season crop, mizuna does its best growing in the mild weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. A second sowing in late summer, timed to mature as the weather cools, is usually the better crop of the year — and light frost only sweetens it.

Quick facts

When to plant mizuna

Companions

Common problems

Pests: flea beetle, aphids.

Diseases & disorders: downy mildew, clubroot.

Same family (Brassicaceae)

Rotate these so they don’t follow each other in the same bed year to year.

Figures are typical home-garden ranges from Cooperative Extension planting guides, cross-checked against multiple state sources. Your variety and conditions will vary.