Our family gathers for breakfast at the beginning of each new year to celebrate our first meal together. The traditional Japanese ozoni, or mochi soup, is always prepared, and in abundance. As a child, I would devour the mochi first and always avoid the dark green mizuna leaves. And my mom would always remind me that eating everything in the soup, mizuna included, was essential to ensure a happy, healthy new year.

Mizuna (Brassica juncea, var. japonica) is commonly referred to as potherb mustard. The popular Asian leafy vegetable has a mild mustard flavor and attractive leaf arrangement. Mizuna leaves are oriented in a rosette or circular arrangement. The dark green leaves are jagged-edged, with distinctive white stems.

Mizuna grows prolifically in most areas and can thrive year-round. But it's most typically grown for the New Year's market, to be used in traditional Japanese dishes. Mizuna also is used in soups and stir- fries. Mizuna's taste and nutritional value is making the tender young leaves popular in mesclun salad mixes.

Mizuna is relatively easy to grow in containers and backyards. Its cultivation is similar to that of mustard cabbage. In preparation for next year's ozoni soup, select an area in your garden with good drainage and sunlight. Till the soil at least 6 to 8 inches deep and incorporate some well-decomposed compost to promote good root development.

Mizuna is grown from seed. Obtain good-quality mizuna seed from your local garden shop or seed store. Be sure to check the germination rate and date on the packet. Avoid buying old seed.

Plant your seeds about a week before Thanksgiving. A general fertilizer such as bone meal or 10-30-10 can be applied at planting and re-applied three to four weeks after planting at the rate of 2 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet. The good news is that mizuna is subject to no major pests.

Mizuna can be harvested as early as the three-leaf stage and until it reaches marketable size. Mizuna can be harvested by plucking the leaves you need and allowing the plant to regrow. Or the entire plant can be harvested.

Mizuna is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. So drink the soup, eat the mochi and don't forget to eat the mizuna. It is not a garnish.

Jari Sugano is an extension agent with the University of Hawai'i-Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Reach her at suganoj@ctahr.hawaii.edu.