Early Mizuna
The earliest and mildest-flavored of the Asian greens. You see this in all of the "Spring Mix" salad boxes at the market. It is cold-hardy and high-yielding, providing a backbone green for winter salads. Well-adapted to cut-and-come-again culture. As with lettuce and other greens, the mildest and most tender leaves are from younger plant but most people will enjoy 2 or 3 cuttings before re-sowing. Leaves are most juicy and mild when grown in moist, cool conditions and enough fertility for fast growth. I accomplish this by planting in full sun in very early spring when the ground is still frosty, and then in semi-shade thereafter. Marries perfectly with creamy dressing in a salad, or for very light cooking. I consider this an indispensable part of the early spring garden. Choice for the unheated greenhouse in winter as well. Biennial habit makes it bolt-resistant--overwintered crops will produce tasty flower shoots in spring. Featured in Elliott Coleman's books on winter salad crops in Maine.