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.

One way of estimating when to plant mustard greens is to consult the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz.

Planting Calendar for Mustard greens

Frost tolerance for mustard greens:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant mustard greens just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant mustard greens in Santa Cruz is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mustard greens and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mustard greens may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mustard greens indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Santa Cruz. 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 Santa Cruz is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Cruz you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your mustard greens if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 Santa Cruz

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