GardenAnnual Leafy Green · 20 varieties
Mustard
Brassica juncea
Brassicaceae — the same plant family as cabbage, radish, broccoli, cauliflower and 12 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Mustard (Brassica juncea) is an annual leafy green. It wants full sun and pH 6–6.5 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 25–50 days from sowing. Watch for aphids and alternaria leaf spot. Below: its full sourced profile from 7 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–6.5
- Soil texture
- Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Half hardy
- Suffers in days above
- 75 °F
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it, the temperature that would kill it and a warm-night limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 12–18 in
- Mature spread
- 12–18 in
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 3–18 in
- Between rows
- 12–36 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25–0.5 in
- Container size
- 1–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Direct sow, Transplant
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Germinationest
- Feeding
- Moderate
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 25–50 days from seed
- Harvest cues
- Rapid leaf growth
Planted again for autumn
- South Carolina — Piedmont
- Aug 1 – Sep 15
- South Carolina — Coastal Plain
- Aug 1 – Oct 15
Published by the extension service for its own regions, and quoted here for those regions only — converting them would mean assuming a frost date somewhere else. The chart says when, not whether to sow seed or set out plants, so we do not either. Only South Carolina so far.
- Sow by
- late Sep typical · zone 6b
25 days to maturity from sowing, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Edible parts per source: leaf, flower, seed.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the leaf and flower and seed; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
Petshorses
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Type | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Broadleaf | Broadleaf | 42 | ||
| Chinese Giant Leaf Heirloom | Broadleaf | 45–50 | Green | |
| Florida Broadleaf Heirloom | Broadleaf | 40–50 | Green | Harvest to Table describes this asslow to run to seed in heat |
| Fordhook Fancy | Southern Curled | 40 | Green | |
| Golden Frills | Asian | 45 | Green | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this astakes the cold · takes the heat |
| Green in the Snow Heirloom | Asian | 30–50 | Green | True Leaf Market describes this astakes the cold |
| Green Wave | Southern Curled | 45 | Green | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold · takes the heat |
| Japanese Giant Red Heirloom | 40 | Red | Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (product copy mirrored via third-party reseller storefront) describes this astakes the cold | |
| Komatsuna Heirloom | Asian | 30–50 | Green | True Leaf Market describes this astakes the cold · takes the heat |
| Mibuna Heirloom | Asian | 21–40 | Green | True Leaf Market describes this astakes the cold · takes the heat |
| Miike Giant Heirloom | Asian | 40–50 | Red | |
| Old Fashioned Heirloom | Southern Curled | 42 | Green | |
| Osaka Purple Heirloom | Asian | 40–80 | Purple | |
| Red Giant | Asian | 40 | Purple | Botanical Interests describes this astakes the heat · takes the cold · slow to run to seed in heat |
| Ruby Streaks | Asian | 40 | Purple | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this astakes the cold |
| Savannah F1 | Broadleaf | 35 | Farmington Seed describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold · takes the heat | |
| Scarlet Frills | Asian | 37 | Red | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold |
| Southern Giant Curled Heirloom | Southern Curled | 40–65 | Green | Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold |
| Tendergreen | Asian | 30–60 | Green | Botanical Interests describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold · takes the heat |
| Wasabina Heirloom | Asian | 40–45 | Green | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat · takes the cold |
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- NC State Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 16 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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