One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Normal you can determine when you can plant mustard by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mustard

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

Mustard require warm weather which tells us that it is important 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 Normal 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 fully mature. 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 Normal the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Normal is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Normal you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your mustard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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