When to Plant Mustard in Pittsfield, IL

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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Pittsfield you should be able to figure out when you can plant mustard.


Planting Calendar for Mustard

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

It's a bad idea to plant mustard until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold 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 Pittsfield 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your mustard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Pittsfield. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Pittsfield is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Pittsfield last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your mustard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsfield

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 Pittsfield

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