Not all shiso tastes the same.

In our kitchen, we find there are culinary differences between the Japanese and Korean Shiso and thus we used them differently.

In the former (Japanese,青しそ, ao-jiso ), the leaves are thinner and the taste is suitable even for young children’s salads. Eaten raw, the minty flavor is not as sharp as the Korean and tastes slightly like cinnamon. Japanese Shiso can be either green or reddish color.

The Korean Shiso seems to be a favorite only with the adults at home, especially meat lovers. We enjoyed the thicker leaves as a wrap of greasy meats dipped in sweet Korean chili paste and sesame oil.  The flavors blend so well that the grease “disappeared” from one’s palate. Regrettably, the grease did not disappear for real! In appearance, Korean shiso has an oval smooth-edged thicker leaf compared to Japanese Shiso.

Shiso seeds have a short life span and should be kept in the freezer to extend its viability. Germination can be tricky as it was important to maintain both a warm and moist environment without drowning the seeds. For the best result, seeds environment cannot alternate between dry and wet, it must be kept constantly moist.

 

JAPANESE GREEN SHISO VARIETY

 

It took between overnight to 14 days to see the seeds showed the first sign of emerging life.

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
3 to 14 days to germinate

 

Seeds leaves did not show immediately.

They appeared 3 days after germination.

As young seedlings, the growth progress was relatively slow.

 

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
3 days after germination

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
Mosquitoes-Safe  Nursery

 

Significant spurt in growth seen only after one week.

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
One week old

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
True Leaves have pointy tip

 

Hydro seedlings settled in individual “pod”.

 

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
2 weeks old

 

We fed these hydro plants with seaweed extract instead of just AB nutrients.

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
3 weeks old – long roots

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
2018 July 10 – one month old
Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
2019 Jan18 – hydro

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in containers
Roots in liquid nutrients

 

The downside of Perilla mint is that they seem to bolt rather quickly, usually after the 4th harvest and the leaves became tough and brittle.

When this happened, leaves do not replace as fast and they were smaller. We preferred to re-start from seeds and enjoyed younger leaves.

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
Bolting – Flowers pods

 

Soil Based Japanese Green Shiso

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
2018 Nov 19

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
10 days old

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
3 weeks  old

 

We love these leaves raw in salads, rice rolls or with sashimi.

Our favorite salad combination is avocado with these leaves, do try it for yourself!

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore
Favorite leaves with rice

 

As the children love only Japanese Shiso leaves, we grew mainly this over the Korean variety at home.

 

Grow Japanese Perilla Shiso Mint 青しそ, ao-jiso from seeds in Singapore

 

SEEDS ARE AVAILABLE IN SHOP 

These seedlings grew very fast after one month.

 

Grow Shiso or Perilla from seeds in Singapore
2018 November 21

 

Although at this stage, the size of the leaf is not big, we enjoy the tender smaller leaves over the mature ones.

Its texture at this stage is finer and the cinnamon flavor had a sweeter aftertaste.

 

cool seasoned herbs from seeds
2018 December 21

 

Larger leaves can be harvested first, keeping the smaller leaves on the plant.

The next harvest in a week’s time.

Planted well in cloth bags, with enough aeration to roots zone even though it’s in soil, this can be a large plant.

 

 

Grow cool seasoned herbs from seeds in Singapore
Good roots mass

 

As the roots had extended out of its seedling bag, it can now be planted in a larger pot to mature further.

 

KOREAN Bi-Color Red SHISO/PERILLA  깻잎 

Our first trial of seeds was sowed on July 12 and they germinated on July 18, about 6 days.

 

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore

 

A one-week-old seedling’s length was about 8 cm.

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
1 week old

 

A slight tint of red on the stem was evident in one week.

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
True Leaf

The bi-color Perilla/Shiso is pretty!

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
1 month old

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
Roots

 

Roots mass remained thin on a month old seedling.

In their second month, as the leaves grew, roots gained mass as well.

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
2020 January 6

 

The Korean shiso leaves feel thicker than the Japanese variety.

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
2020 January 10

 

In non-circulating hydroponic plants, the leaves took another two weeks to grow bigger.

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
2020 January 31

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore

 

Grow Red Korean Shiso or Perilla 깻잎 from seeds in Singapore
2020 February 2

 

 

These seeds are available in SHOP!

 

 

 

10 thoughts on “PERILLA or SHISO FROM SEEDS”

  1. Hi, thank you for the information on Shiso planting. I am a Shiso lover. May u advise any different in taste of the Shiso planted in soil and hydroponic? Do u have seeds for Japanese Shiso?

      1. How can i germinate the perilla seed. I bought it from locally and also from Korea (onlne)
        Tried using moist kitchen towel and direct into potting soil too.
        Sadly, none germinate..
        Pls share your expert view.
        Thanks
        Young JH

  2. Hi,
    I have bought perilla seeds locally and from Korea.
    I really find it very difficult to germinate the seed.
    Tried in wet kitchen towel, direct into soil. Sadly none germinate.
    Kindly share your expert views.
    Thank you

    Young JH

  3. Hi, thanks for the post! I like shiso and have been trying to grow Japanese shiso unsuccesfully. I grow them in non circulating hydroponics with and without grow lights. However, all the plants have leaves with brown tips that becomes bigger and dried out as the leaves grow bigger. This happens for all new growth of leaves as well. Kindly share your expert views on how I can grow them, thanks so much!

    1. Perhaps reduce nutrients to half strength and don’t let leaves get too near to lights panel. Temperature of environment can affect them too. Prefers cool from my observation of my plants.

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