Planting Large-Seeded Mâche
Large-Seeded Mâche is a cool season vegetable in the Caprifoliaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
You can sow Large-Seeded Mâche directly into the garden 4–6 weeks before your last frost.
For a fall crop, sow 6–8 weeks before your first fall frost so plants mature as the weather cools.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Large-Seeded Mâche room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 3 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 6 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 8 |
| Planting depth | 0.25 inches |
| Sun requirement | Partial sun |
Days to Maturity
Large-Seeded Mâche reaches maturity in 45–60 days from sowing.
Large-Seeded Mâche is ready to harvest after about 53 days. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.
Conditions and Care
As a cool-season vegetable, Large-Seeded Mâche does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.
Large-Seeded Mâche grows well in partial sun and tolerates some afternoon shade, which can help slow bolting in warm weather. Sow seed about 0.25 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Large-Seeded Mâche belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Large-Seeded Mâche is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Growing Notes
Larger-leaf mâche selection for winter harvest.