One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant mustard is to check out the USDA zone info for Champaign.

Planting Calendar for Mustard

Frost tolerance for mustard:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since mustard are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mustard in Champaign is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mustard and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mustard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your mustard indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Champaign. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Champaign may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Champaign last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your mustard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Champaign

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Champaign.