Though my tomatoes have been an uphill battle, my mustards are doing quite nicely:

I took that picture a little over a week ago – they’ve doubled in size since then.

Seven years ago, I wrote in my survival plant profile on mustard:

“Mustard greens are my new favorite potherb. This plant is easy to grow and is remarkably healthy for you, even containing anti-cancer compounds. Though it’s not as cold-hardy as kale or collards, mustard will stand quite a bit of frost before dying. Mine have survived the mid-20s without damage. In fact, if you want success, you cannot plant these during the warm part of the year. If you do, the plants will rapidly bolt and peter out. As temperatures rise, they get all crazy and overwhelmed with the desire to make babies. Here in North Florida, I put my mustard in around November, then harvest leaves through the winter. Boiled, mustard has a texture and flavor we prefer to its cousin collards. Stir-fried, it has a spicy bitterness the kids don’t really like – and I agree with the kids.”

It’s been a few years since I grew mustard, and I was quite good at growing them back in Florida. Since moving to the tropics, however, I have had trouble growing any number of things I used to grow easily. I’m glad to have mustard doing well – and back on the menu! We’ll see if it bolts here. The weather right now isn’t going higher than the 80’s, so I have high hopes. If this bed does well, I’ll plant plenty more.