Mustard Varieties and Flowers

This afternoon I took Sally out for her physical therapy (walk).  She had a ruptured disc in her back and had to have surgery.  So, now she needs to have limited exercise 3 times a day for 4 to 6 weeks.  Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I've been able to help with this.  After I go back to work, most of this will fall on Tom to do.  But, anyway, today she seemed to feel like walking farther than usual and we ended up walking all the way to the east end of our property.

While on this excursion, we past by Tom's "mustard experiment".  At last year's Horticulture Industry Show (HIS), he picked up a free packet of Mighty Mustard seed, http://www.mightymustard.com/.  Mustard is a strong green, similar to turnip greens, that can be eaten raw or cooked.  We often add young mustard leaves to our spring salad mix that we sell at the farmers' market.  However, Mighty Mustard varieties have been developed to use as cover crops and contain glucosinolates that act as natural chemical agents to help control many soil borne pathogens and weeds, making them an effective, all-natural alternative to chemical pesticides and herbicides.

So, Tom planted his free packet of seed this fall.  There were 2 varieties of mustard in the packet, Pacific Gold and Ida Gold.  He planted them side by side.  When Sally and I walked past them a little while ago here is what they looked like.

Notice the variety on the left looks rather sick.  That is because it is not as cold-tolerant as the variety on the right and the frosts we have had thus far this fall have taken their toll on it.  Tom can't remember which variety is which and I guess it does not make any difference.  Neither variety is supposed to survive through the winter, but, none the less, they will add nutrients to the soil when Tom tills them in this spring. 

Another thing I was amazed to find, especially at this time of year, was the following flower.

It looks as if Mighty Mustard is determined to flower and try to produce seed until the weather finally gets cold enough to do it in.