When to Plant Mustard in Clear Lake, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant mustard by using the USDA zone info for Clear Lake.


Planting Calendar for Mustard

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

You really shouldn't plant mustard until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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 Clear Lake 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 really do well. 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

In Clear Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Clear Lake is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Clear Lake last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your mustard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clear Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Clear Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Clear Lake.