When to Plant Mustard in Portsmouth, VA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Portsmouth you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant mustard.


Planting Calendar for Mustard

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

Since mustard are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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 Portsmouth 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. Any later than that and your mustard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your mustard indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Portsmouth. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Portsmouth may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your mustard in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

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