[Gardening] Recommended for the cold season! Takana (mustard greens) that can be harvested by picking leaves is incredibly versatile
Several years have already passed since I started gardening on my rooftop terrace.
I have learned a lot about gardening, and I have become accustomed to the routine of soil preparation, including making fertilizer with compost, sowing seeds, planting, harvesting, pruning, and post-harvest processing, as well as sifting the used soil and putting it in black bags to wait for spring while keeping it pest-free and sterilized.
During the winter, the greenery disappears, and the frequency of watering drops significantly.
There is almost nothing left to harvest.
In the midst of this, Kaname chose to plant garlic and potatoes for the winter and diligently set about planting them.
Although we were able to harvest the potatoes in the middle of winter, we still need to wait about two more months for the garlic harvest.
So, last winter, I had some Takana seeds left over from two years ago, so I decided to try planting them, thinking it wouldn't hurt to try.
Since the germination rate of seeds decreases over time, I didn't have high expectations, so I just scattered them randomly at the edge of the garlic planter and left them alone without thinning them out.
It seems this Takana can be harvested as a whole plant, but given the situation, I can do a 'pick-and-harvest' where I harvest the outer leaves one by one as they grow.
Because I grew them without thinning, they are quite crowded, but the leaves are growing well, and when I pick them, I get a decent amount.
I heat them up using the 'Spinach (Boiled)' menu on my Hot Cook, soak them in water to remove the bitterness, and cut them into appropriate sizes.
If you add an appropriate amount of cut and frozen deep-fried tofu to this, along with mentsuyu, white dashi, sake, mirin, etc., and heat it for a few minutes using the 'Simmer (Mix)' menu, you have a side dish ready.
Spinach and Komatsuna are also useful because they can be harvested by picking leaves, but it was surprisingly difficult to harvest a substantial amount.
However, in the case of Takana, each leaf is thick, and even a small number of leaves provides enough volume to make a proper side dish.
Considering that spinach and Komatsuna are cheaply available in the market during their peak season, I personally have come to think that 'if you are going to have a home garden in winter, Takana is the way to go'.
When your planter becomes empty in the autumn, just go ahead and sow some Takana seeds!
https://foodslink.jp/syokuzaihyakka/syun/vegitable/takana3.htm