Salad Query

martinn123

Hi Folks,

I posted earlier that I bought a packet of 6 varieties of Salad

The more delicate plants, bolted, but I have planted in some more

Of the original effort, one plant has survived.

It's quite bitter to taste, and I am wondering,
A. What is it, ( i forgot to use the name tags )

B, what can I do with it, can it be cooked, as it's bitter tastes makes it unsuitable for a mixed Salad

Thanks

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looksee

It is some kind of brassica, (cabbage) you can tell from the little yellow flowers. I think they are growing too slowly for salad, I suspect they have flowered because they are stressed and will therefore be strong tasting. With salad you need to grow it fast and eat it young, which is why mixed leaves in a pot is the best bet.

Supercell

It looks like Japanese red mustard or a relative, often in salad mixes, have some of that in my garden too.

Monaou2

Hi folks

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have a mysterious plant growing in my container that look very similar to the poster above. In the container I have baby carrots, green beans and some spring onions growing (I know - prob not best combination!) but this plant has grown very large and is now taking over a lot of the space. What I'm wondering is - do you think it is the same as the above poster and is some form of cabbage (how ever it got in there!) and is it edible/nice? Or maybe is it just a weed?!! Pics are below.

Also, a general question - I planted a selection of salad leaves in another container and they have come on well, but for using them in salads how can one be sure what you are eating - in that I'm not sure I'd be able to tell all the salad leaves varieties apart so I could end up just eating weeds that got into the container as well...any suggestions?!

Thanks for your help!

Update: Seems Boards don't allow people to post images (which is an awful pain in a gardening forum where I imagine a good few queries are on the look/identity of plants...let me know if I'm missing anything here!) so guess you'll have to take my word for it that the plant is similar to the original poster (with the slightly two-toned leave of green/dark brown and now has long stems with small yellow flowers), but far bigger, as in a (3-4 foot tall!!).

Thanks!

Supercell

You can post images just click go advanced instead of quick reply.
Almost certainly an overgrown mustard, they do get huge, easy way to test, crumple some of the leaves up in your hands and smell. You'll know if its mustard. They get quite bitter when big so I'd recommend pulling it and throwing it away, or using small amounts of it as it can be overpowering.

Monaou2

Hi Supercell....thanks so much...you were spot on....was blown away by the smell of mustard when I crumpled it up!! That's a handy tip to know!

I think on posting images there is a minimum requirement for posting first and I'm not there yet! (there's no where to add images if I use go advanced and cant paste etc either).

Thanks for your help!