One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant mustard is to check out the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Mustard

Frost tolerance for mustard:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Mustard do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mustard in Salem 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. If you wait any later than that and your mustard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your mustard indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your mustard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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