Succeeds in full sun in a moisture-retentive well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil. Prefers a cool moist reasonably fertile soil. The plant is somewhat deeper rooted than many of the oriental brassicas and is more tolerant of drought, though it grows best if it is not short of water. Mustard spinach is widely cultivated in the Orient for its edible leaves, there are many named varieties. It takes 55 - 80 days for plants to reach maturity from sowing. This is a very hardy plant, although knocked back, it has withstood temperatures down to about -14°c and can be cropped for most of the year. It is much less likely to bolt from a spring sowing and is fairly resistant to summer heat.

Leaves - raw or cooked. The flavor is a happy compromise between the blandness of cabbages and the sharpness of the oriental mustards. The plant can be eaten at any stage from seedling to mature plant. Flowering stems - raw or cooked. Sweet and succulent, but becoming hotter as the plant matures.

Seed - sow in situ April to September. Some varieties can also be sown in a cold greenhouse in late autumn, winter or early spring to provide leaves overwinter and in late spring.

Not known in the wild, it probably arose from B. rapa chinensis, Pak choi.