When to Plant Mustard in San Jose, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant mustard is to refer to the USDA zone info for San Jose.


Planting Calendar for Mustard

Frost tolerance for mustard: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since mustard require warm weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant mustard
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant mustard
Probably not a good time to plant mustard

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

The last month that you can plant mustard and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mustard may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your mustard indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Jose. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for San Jose is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in San Jose you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your mustard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.