How to Grow Your Own Perilla Leaves
Perilla, also known as kkaennip (Korean), shiso (Japanese), Lá tía tô (Vietnamese), Zisu (Chinese), a green or red almost heart-shaped leaf that can be first grown indoors and then outdoors in a box, pot, yard or balcony. Below, Kristyn Leach of Namu Farms shares tips on how to grow your own perilla.
Many people know and love perilla, and they know them by many different names. But while western taxonomy classifies perilla as a single species genus (Perilla frutescens), for communities who are devoted to their kkaennip, or tía tô, or pak maengda or shiso, each variety is completely distinct. So, more than a mere matter of semantics, each of the names this plant is known by will distinguish the cultivar (a plant that has unique attributes as a result of being bred). It's a testament to the love between various peoples and perilla cultivars that each variety is imbued with a sense of being unique in all the world. As a Korean American, kkaennip truly feels like kin.
March through May are good times to plant perilla. They are fairly frost-sensitive, so plan around your last frost date. You want to germinate them in early spring as the days lengthen and light begins to intensify. They should be well established by the summer solstice, hopefully having about four leaf sets. By your peak season in the summertime, they should have nice, full canopies.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Perilla Leaves
1. Prepare a nice seed bed, indoors or outdoors.
Perilla needs light to germinate, so don't cover or plant them deeply. Broadcast the seed on the surface. Gently tamp it in with your hand or a rake. You don't want to bury the seed too deep, but you want it to be nestled in the soil, so there's enough contact to germinate. The keys to high germination are light and consistent, even moisture — watering it deeply once a day and making sure the soil is never dry and flaky.
2. Transfer to large pots.
If you broadcasted seed into a large flat, now (see photo below) would be the time to move them up into larger pots. Their roots are vigorous, and to minimize the impact of disturbing them, it's best to separate seedlings and give them more room once they have their first true leaf. If using 128 cell trays, you have about two weeks or so after they emerge before replanting them. When planted directly into a 50-cell tray or larger, then you have about 3 to 4 weeks from the time they emerge to get them into their more permanent location.
3. Maintain.
At this point, the plants are quite self-reliant. Its fertility requirements are not too intense. We don't even generally amend with compost, so long as your soil has sufficient organic matter content. We mulch in order to retain moisture. Water is essential. While not too fussy, inadequate moisture will cause some suffering. It's ok if the leaves droop a little at the height of the day, they're just trying to avoid transpiring water. But make sure that at the end of the day, the leaves are perked up again. If you notice sagging leaves that are starting to look wrinkly, it's definitely time to water. When they're still young, if leaf margins start to brown or dry up, the plant may be experiencing moisture stress. If the leaves droop and become yellowish, it may be a sign of water logging, and you should let the soil dry out a little. Once they are established, their threshold for too little or too much water is a little bit more developed. But when they are young, and newly transplanted in the field, they can be vulnerable.
4. Harvest
To harvest: You can either trim individual leaves from the bottom up, or trim at a node to encourage branching. A node is the point on the stem above each leaf set. You will notice a tiny pair of leaves growing in the elbow between the stem and leaf. This is known as an axial bud. If you trim right above there, the plant will redirect energy to grow from those elbows, growing now two stems. The axial buds will take over as the primary growth point. We prefer to keep their primary growth point intact, harvesting individual leaves. Either way, approach harvesting as an act of pruning, considering the overall architecture of the plant, and how to ensure good light and air circulation. This will yield good quality leaves, seeds, and prevent risk of pathogens.
For a full how-to, including saving seeds, please visit Second Generation Seeds.
