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.

You will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant mustard greens by reviewing the USDA zone info for Big Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Mustard greens

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

Since mustard greens do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant mustard greens in Big Rapids 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 greens and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mustard greens may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your mustard greens indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Big Rapids 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.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Big Rapids is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Big Rapids it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your mustard greens if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Rapids

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 Big Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Rapids.