Looking for delicious greens that will flourish in windy Irish gardens? Turn to Asia, writes expert grower Joy Larkcom.
It sounds a little contrary to claim that some of the most successful vegetables in my windswept west Cork garden originated in China and Japan, but that's the way it is. Like the many New Zealand plants established here, these outsiders have found conditions they like, and they flourish. I'm thinking, above all, of the Asian leafy greens, members of the brassica tribe.
Some are household names, such as Chinese cabbage or Chinese leaves (ironically, perhaps the most difficult to grow) and pak choi. Less familiar are shaggy-leaved mizuna, spear-like mibuna, mild-flavoured komatsuna and the various spicy mustards.
I remember looking out on to the bleak, sodden vegetable plot in March - and there they were, all that last lot, bright green and perkily oblivious to the salt-laden winds battering them. And in old fish boxes in the greenhouse were lovely tasty seedlings of chubby pak choi and oriental mixtures, ready to cut for salads.
What are the virtues of these Asiatic greens? First, their culinary qualities. They range in flavour from the almost bland mildness of Chinese cabbage through the subtle crispness of pak choi to the increasingly lively spiciness of the mustards. A mixed stir-fry is a gastronomic treat, especially to the jaded winter palate. Lovely texture, too, especially in the pak choi. Seedling leaves and the milder greens can be eaten raw; mature plants can be steamed, stir-fried and cooked in other imaginative ways. Almost all can be eaten at any stage, from seedlings to mature plants to the flowering shoots, the oriental equivalent of sprouting broccoli.
As someone obsessed with making a vegetable garden beautiful, I fall for their looks. The purple-leaved mustards are stunning winter plants, easily meriting a place in the flower border. And there are now some gorgeous frilly mustards, both red and green. Another stunner is the dark, crepe-leaved rosette pak choi, or tatsoi, which grows upright in summer, then retreats to form a symmetrical ground-hugging rosette later in the year. It has an outstanding flavour. Mizuna is beautiful, too, with its glossy, deeply serrated leaves.
Their greatest virtue is their natural vigour. Given the right conditions they grow unbelievably fast, most resprouting willingly when cut, to give more leaf a few weeks later.
They have their vices. Except when grown as seedling salads, they demand fertile soil and plenty of moisture. They attract slugs and common brassica pests, such as cabbage white caterpillars and flea beetle, although growing them under fine nets gives considerable protection. Another vice, distinguishing them from western brassicas, is their tendency to bolt - that is, to run to seed without forming a substantial plant in the lengthening days before midsummer. This characteristic is exacerbated if there's a sudden drop in temperature. Sowing too early is the main reason for failure and disappointment.
This vice can be turned into a virtue. Sown in July, August, even early September, their natural season, these fast-growing orientals are ideal follow-on crops after peas, broad beans, early potatoes, onions and so on are lifted. And these later sowings avoid the worst brassica pests.
SEEDLING SALADS
For quick results, and a wonderful insight into the spectrum of oriental greens, start with the seedling mixtures, sold under names such as Oriental Saladini, Spicy Greens and Braising Mix. If unavailable in garden centres, buy from mail-order suppliers (see panel, left).
Sow outdoors as soon as the soil is workable in spring. I use an onion hoe to make a shallow drill about 10cm wide. Seeds germinate fast, and within three or four weeks lovely young seedlings are ready for salads. Cut 20cm high above the lowest pair of leaves; they may resprout two or three times before bolting. Earlier sowings can be made under cover.
I sowed in a greenhouse bed on January 22nd this year and was cutting seedlings from March to May, when tomatoes were planted there. Accept the fact that early sowings may bolt: just pick until it happens. Make the main outdoor sowings in July and August, and under cover in September and October. If the seedlings grow too big to eat raw, they are fabulous cooked.
LARGE PLANTS
For large, individual plants, make the main sowings in June, July and August. If your garden is a sheltered haven, sow in situ outdoors, thinning to the correct distance apart. If it's a bit of a battlefield - exposed, difficult soil, slug prone - sow in modules (individual cells) and transplant.
Either way, you'll have lovely autumn and winter green treats, the hardiest surviving through to spring. If you have space, some can be transplanted under cover in autumn for superior crops.
Joy Larkcom has written numerous books on growing vegetables. A new edition of her Oriental Vegetables: The Complete Guide for the Gardening Cook has just been published by Frances Lincoln, £14.99 in UK
SEED SOURCES - GOOD GENERAL RANGE
The Organic Gardening Catalogue
[ www.organiccatalogue.comOpens in new window ]
00-44-845-1301304
Riverdene Business Park, Hersham, KT12 4RG, England
Suffolk Herbs
[ www.suffolkherbs.comOpens in new window ]
00-44-1376-572456
Monk's Farm, Kelvedon,
CO5 9PG, England
Edwin Tucker & Sons
[ www.edwintucker.comOpens in new window ]
00-44-1364-652233
Brewery Meadow, Stonepark,
TQ13 7DG, England
SEEDLING SALAD MIXES
Mr Fothergill's Seeds
[ www.mr-fothergills.co.ukOpens in new window ]
00-44-845-1662511
Kentford, Newmarket,
CB8 7QB, England
Thompson & Morgan
Catalogue via www.mrmiddleton.com
01-8731118
Mr Middleton, Mary Street, Dublin 1