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Ethiopian Blue Mustard Greens
Brassica carinata
Deliciously tender, blue-tinged mustard with a flavor similar to Lacinato Kale. Harvest the young main shoot with 8-10 leaves, which will inspire the lower shoots to grow out for several more harvests. This is a cold-hardy variety surviving temperatures into the 20s.
Menkir Tamrat is an Ethiopian tech-worker turned farmer who introduced these seeds and other Ethiopian varieties to Fred Hempel, who shared this variety with us, and who runs Artisan Seeds in Sunol, CA.
Also known as Gomenzer, Hamli Adri, Highland Kale and Texsel Greens.
Days to maturity: 60-90
Seeds per pack: 325
Germination rate: 83% on 02/05/2024
Planting / harvesting notes
Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost, or seed every 1" in rows 8-12" apart, 1/4-1/2" deep. Keep watered until germination. Thin to every 8-12" for fuller heads, or treat as cut-and-come-again baby greens. Harvest baby greens after 25 days, or allow plant to mature 60-90 days.
Seed keeping notes
Isolate by 1/2 mile from other flowering members of B. carinata to avoid unwanted cross-pollination. Allow seed pods to turn brown and dry before seed harvest. Protect from birds.
