One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when you can plant mustard by reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara.

Planting Calendar for Mustard

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

Mustard require warm weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mustard in Santa Barbara is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. If you wait any later than that and your mustard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your mustard indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Barbara. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Barbara you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your mustard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Barbara

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Barbara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Barbara.