Wild Mustard is Free and Available For Your Salads All Over Town

Mustards are all over town right now and they appear like weeds. But what you may not know is that they are at their peak of flavor right now, particularly the younger, smaller leaves toward the center.
This is the "wild" version of collard greens. They They can be harvested along walls, in empty lots, your own yard just about everywhere.

They are what we call "winter annuals". They seed of winter annuals like wild mustard germinates in the fall and puts down a "rosette" of leaves before winter cold sets in. That is the rosette you see below.

As soon as we see some warm spring weather they shoot up a central spike with their small, yellow flowers. The flowers form a seed capsule which drops the seed on to the soil and which will germinate during the early fall months into the rosette and the cycle starts all over again.

These "weeds" can be used to spice up your salad mix just like other greens you might use. Start harvesting in late December but get the leaves picked before it gets hot. Smaller leaves are more tender. Make sure you wash them. They will keep in the refrigerator for several days, just like lettuce and spinach would.

As the air temperatures get hotter the leaves will become thicker and more leathery and the "spiciness" will increase. They will die out as the summer heat approaches and after they send out their seed stalk with small yellow flowers.