Padres sowed a golden road
Legend has it that wild mustard came to California with the
Franciscan Padres, who scattered the seeds for these striking
yellow-flowering plants along El Camino Real so others could find
their way from mission to mission.
Fact? Or just a nice story? Regardless, a sure sign that winter
is beginning to slip into spring is the appearance of fields filled
with wild mustard. For some people, it is merely a pretty sight.
For others, it’s a tasty food source.
Padres sowed a golden road
Legend has it that wild mustard came to California with the Franciscan Padres, who scattered the seeds for these striking yellow-flowering plants along El Camino Real so others could find their way from mission to mission.
Fact? Or just a nice story? Regardless, a sure sign that winter is beginning to slip into spring is the appearance of fields filled with wild mustard. For some people, it is merely a pretty sight. For others, it’s a tasty food source.
There are a couple of wild mustards. The one we see everywhere during mustard season from January through March is Brassica rapa, a member of the Cruciferae family that includes cabbage and broccoli.
Often, around this time, you can spot people wandering through a mustard field, picking at flowers and leaves to use in salads. Although wild mustard is a good source of Vitamin A, B and C, still it’s not to everyone’s taste. Only tender, young leaves and tiny flower buds will do. They give a peppery taste to early spring salads.
As the leaves and flowers mature, they become bitter. Boil the older leaves for 30 minutes with one change of water. Season this dish with butter and vinegar and top with crumbled hard-boiled eggs.
Wild mustard grows best in tilled soil, which is why you see it flourishing in orchards, open fields and vineyards. It’s value to growers is its role as “green manure.” The mature plants are tilled under to enrich the soil, a free source of nitrogen and other minerals.
You can bring wild mustard into your own garden. Find a sunny spot that can be left undisturbed. Go out into a field, pick some good-size mustard flowers, and bring them home to seed your own wld mustard patch. You have the choice of eating it, or turning it under in the spring to enrich your soil.
Do I eat this stuff myself? I limit myself to a few flower buds mixed into a green salad. Otherwise, it’s a bit too peppery for my taste.
A Reader Wants to Know: I have a Tudor-style house with a large lawn, both front and back. In summer they are a huge sponge and my water bill is not something I look forward to. I’d like to plant a few trees for shade. I have a septic tank so I’d like to make sure the roots aren’t invasive and also something that grows quickly. What do you suggest? – Pam
Joan Says: This is not an easy question to answer. Trees are a personal thing. I could tell you the trees I love and you would say, “Oh, no, not those!” One suggestion is to take a look at the front of Sunset Western Garden Book which has a section on Garden Trees. That list contains all kinds of good candidates, and others I would not touch with a 10-foot pole.
Some things you should consider: Do you want deciduous trees that drop their leaves in fall or do you want evergreens? Do you want trees that produce fruit (a problem – and reward – of its own kind). Do you want spreading trees or pyramid shape?
You asked about fast-growing. If you start with the smallest bare-root tree, or small container-started tree, it will be about five years before the tree reaches a decent size. My persimmon tree is in Year Two and it’s barely more than a stick. But if you have the money to spend, you can buy trees in large containers that are well on their way, or even full-size trees. Obviously they cost a lot, and cost even more to have them moved and planted.
Having said all that, please, no palm trees. The palm is the most over-used, unimaginative tree in California. They are messy and attract rats. Ugh! Be careful of magnolias as they drop litter and leaves with a vengence. No eucalyptus. The branches are brittle and are easily damaged in storms. They also have high fire risk if you are in an open area where there are grass fires.
So, what’s left? I have had good luck with birch trees, which have that great-looking peeling white bark. They are basically disease free and the roots aren’t invasive. Birch trees look best when planted in groups of three. Other trees that grow nice and have good manners are Chinese pistache, jacaranda, ginkgo biloba (kind of messy but gorgeous in fall when the leaves turn), linden and persimmon.
Think about adding a couple of small trees. I think no yard is complete without at least one lemon and one orange tree. You’ll be glad of that lemon tree when you want to make lemon pie.
Also, pick a quality nursery that has a decent selection. You might have to shop around to find the trees you want, but it will be worth it.
