Paano Magtanim ng Mustasa: How to Plant Mustard Greens the Traditional Way
Paano magtanim ng mustasa? Here is how traditional Filipino farmers usually plant mustasa (mustard greens), step by step from getting the field ready to the harvest, with the day of each step and what to change for a higher yield.
This guide shows how traditional farmers usually plant mustasa. Use it as a starting point. For a higher yield, update it: plant certified seed or clean planting material, test your soil, and follow the right spacing and fertilizer.
How Filipino farmers usually grow mustasa in the lowland cool months, sown straight in furrows or raised as seedlings and set out on beds, then picked for leaves or pulled whole. For small vegetable farms and backyard growers who sell it fresh or for burong mustasa.
Before you plant, get the field ready with our land preparation guide for vegetables. Then choose your seed or planting material with the mustasa varieties sold here. If the leaves turn pale later on, the mustasa nutrient deficiency guide helps you find what is missing. For more on the crop, read pagtatanim ng gulay, vegetables in the Philippines.
When to plant mustasa
Mustasa is a lowland favorite of the cooler months, best sown from about September to February, often on rice land after the wet season harvest. It can be grown in other months with water and some shade, but heat and heavy rain make it bolt or rot.
What you plant
Seed, sown straight in furrows or in a seedbed or seedling tray. Farmers pick seed of a variety known to resist pests and diseases. Seedlings are ready to transplant after about four weeks, at three to four true leaves.
Paano magtanim ng mustasa: sown in furrows
This is the sown in furrows way (Sown in furrows (tanim buto)). The crop is ready about 60 days after sowing.
Sown in furrows: before planting (Bago magtanim)
14 days before sowing: Plow twice
Plow or dig the field two times so the soil is loose. Mustasa likes loose soil rich in organic matter, near water.
3 days before sowing: Add manure and open furrows
Mix rotted chicken manure and carbonized rice hull into the soil, about 1 kg of manure and 300 g of rice hull a square meter, then open furrows 15 to 25 cm apart.
Sown in furrows: planting day (Pagtatanim)
Sowing day: Sow in the furrows
Drop the seed in the furrows about 15 cm apart and cover with a little soil, then water.
Sown in furrows: care while it grows (Pag aalaga)
Day 3: Water two to three times a week
Keep the soil moist, watering two to three times a week or more in dry spells.
Day 14: Thin and weed
Pull extra seedlings where they crowd and pull the weeds so the plants get sun and food.
Day 20: Feed and scout
Many growers water with fermented plant juice or manure tea once a week. Check under the leaves for aphids, caterpillars and diamondback moth larvae, and pull out plants with mottled, curled leaves.
Day 60: Wrap and keep fresh
Wrap the bundles in banana leaves or plastic and keep them in the shade so they stay crisp.
Sown in furrows: harvest (Anihan)
Day 60: Pick the leaves or pull the plants
From about two months after sowing, pick the outer leaves or pull whole plants while the stalks are still crisp and firm.
Seedlings set out on beds, step by step
This is the seedlings set out on beds way (Seedlings set out on beds (lipat tanim)). The crop is ready about 25 days after transplanting.
Seedlings set out on beds: before planting (Bago magtanim)
3 days before transplanting: Prepare the beds
Plow twice, mix in rotted chicken manure and carbonized rice hull, and form beds.
Seedlings set out on beds: the nursery (Punlaan)
28 days before transplanting: Sow in a seedbed or tray
Fill a seedling tray or seedbed with a mix of carbonized rice hull, compost and vermicast, sow one seed a hole and water lightly. Keep in light shade.
Seedlings set out on beds: planting day (Pagtatanim)
Transplanting day: Transplant in the cool hours
When the seedlings are about four weeks old with three to four true leaves, set one seedling a hole 15 to 20 cm apart, in the morning or late afternoon, and water.
Seedlings set out on beds: care while it grows (Pag aalaga)
Day 3: Water and weed
Water two to three times a week and pull weeds as they come.
Day 10: Scout for leaf eaters
Check for aphids, caterpillars and diamondback moth larvae, and remove sick plants.
Seedlings set out on beds: harvest (Anihan)
Day 25: Harvest the leaves
Leaves are ready about two to four weeks after transplanting, while the stalks are crisp.
Watering mustasa, stage by stage
Sown in furrows: how to water
Mustasa sown straight in the furrows is watered two to three times a week by hand, hose or furrow, more in dry spells. On rice land planted right after the wet season harvest, the soil still holds moisture for the first weeks and less watering is needed. Watering cans and hoses on small plots, furrows on bigger rice land fields. Water in the morning or late afternoon.
Sowing to coming up. Leaf growth: dry spells give tough, bitter leaves and early bolting.
| Stage | When | How often | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sowing to coming up | Sowing day to day 5 | Water right after sowing, then every day or two until the seedlings are up | A gentle watering that keeps the furrow damp |
| Young plants | Day 5 to 20 | Two to three times a week, more often in dry spells. Water before thinning | Enough to keep the soil moist to the roots |
| Leaf growth | Day 20 to 50 | Two to three times a week, or more if the leaves droop in the afternoon | Even waterings, no standing water |
| Picking | Day 50 to 60 | Keep watering two to three times a week through the picking rounds | Even waterings |
Without irrigation. Sow on rice land right after the wet season harvest so the plants start on the moisture left in the soil, and water by can two to three times a week once it dries. Mulch with rice straw to hold moisture.
In the dry season. Water two to three times a week, more in hot, dry spells and on sandy soil. Water when the top soil is dry or the leaves droop by mid afternoon.
In the rainy season. Heavy rain makes mustasa rot or bolt, so in the rainy months plant on raised beds with drainage and skip watering on wet days.
- Too little water: Leaves droop and stay small, the stalks turn tough and the plants send up flower stalks early.
- Too much water: Lower leaves yellow and rot at the base, and the plants go soft.
To water better for a higher yield: Mulch the furrows with rice straw to keep the soil moist between waterings. Keep the watering regular so the leaves stay mild and the plants do not bolt.
Seedlings set out on beds: how to water
Seedlings are raised in trays or a seedbed under light shade and watered lightly, then set out in the cool hours, watered right away and watered two to three times a week until the leaves are picked. Watering cans and hoses on small beds, furrows on bigger fields. Water in the morning or late afternoon.
The first days after transplanting. Leaf growth: dry spells give tough, bitter leaves and early bolting.
| Stage | When | How often | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedlings in trays | 28 to 3 days before transplanting | Water lightly every day or as the mix dries, under light shade | Light sprinkles, never soggy |
| Transplanting | Transplanting day to day 3 | Water right after setting out in the morning or late afternoon, then daily until they stand up | Soak the soil around each plant |
| Leaf growth | Day 3 to 20 | Two to three times a week, more in dry spells. Water after weeding | Even waterings, no standing water |
| Picking | Day 20 to 25 | Keep watering two to three times a week while picking | Even waterings |
Without irrigation. Set the seedlings out on rice land right after the wet season harvest so they start on the moisture left in the soil, and mulch with rice straw. Water by can two to three times a week once the soil dries.
In the dry season. Water two to three times a week, more in hot, dry spells and on sandy soil. Water when the top soil is dry or the leaves droop by mid afternoon.
In the rainy season. Use raised beds with drainage in the rainy months and skip watering on wet days. Heavy rain makes mustasa rot or bolt.
- Too little water: Leaves droop and stay small, the stalks turn tough and the plants bolt early.
- Too much water: Lower leaves yellow and rot at the base, and the plants go soft.
To water better for a higher yield: Mulch the beds with rice straw to keep the soil moist between waterings. A drip line or a fine hose head gives every plant the same water and saves time.
Spacing, water and fertilizer for mustasa
Spacing
Furrows 15 to 25 cm apart with plants about 15 cm apart when sown straight. Transplanted seedlings 15 to 20 cm apart. One plant a hill.
Water
Watered two to three times a week by hand, hose or furrow, more in dry weather. Rice land planted after the harvest still holds moisture for the first weeks.
Fertilizer
Mostly organic: rotted chicken manure with carbonized rice hull mixed into the soil, plus weekly fermented plant juice or manure tea. Some farmers add a little urea after thinning. To read what a bag really gives, see our guide to fertilizer for this crop.
Care and harvest
Care while it grows
Thinning direct sown rows, hand weeding, regular watering and a close eye on leaf eating insects. Onion or cosmos planted around the field is used by some growers to keep pests away.
When and how to harvest
Leaves are picked from about two to four weeks after transplanting, or about two months after direct sowing, while the stalks are crisp. Farmers pick outer leaves over several rounds or pull the whole plant, then wrap the bundles in banana leaves to keep them fresh. Much of it goes to burong mustasa.
Common mistakes when planting mustasa
- Sowing in the hottest months, when mustasa bolts and turns tough and bitter.
- Never thinning, so plants stay small and weak.
- Letting the soil dry out, which makes the leaves hot and fibrous.
- Growing mustasa after pechay, cabbage or radish on the same plot again and again.
- Leaving sick, mottled plants in the field where insects spread the virus.
How to get a higher yield of mustasa
The traditional way gets a crop, but small changes add up. These are the first things to change, one season at a time.
- Use fresh seed of a pest and disease resistant variety and sow in the cool months.
- Test the soil and add balanced fertilizer to the manure base by the result.
- Thin on time and keep the moisture steady with mulch.
- Rotate with crops outside the cabbage family and keep the field clean.
- Scout twice a week and remove sick plants early.
anee.io helps with each of these. The NPK Plus calculator checks that your fertilizer plan feeds the yield you want, the pest and disease finders tell you what is on the leaves before you spray, and Anee, the smart farm technician answers your questions in Tagalog or English.
Members open this guide in the How to Plant tool and send every step to the Protocol Builder in one tap, each on its own day. There you can change the seed, the spacing and the fertilizer, then turn it into a cropping calendar for your lots.
Start from the traditional way, make it better, and let anee.io date every task from your own planting day. Free to start.
Start freeQuestions about planting mustasa
Paano magtanim ng mustasa?
When do farmers plant mustasa in the Philippines?
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How long before mustasa can be harvested?
How often do you water mustasa?
What do you plant to grow mustasa?
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