How to Grow Mustard Greens
Mustard Greens At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -9°C
Plant Family
Brassicaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Mustard greens handle frost, so sow them about 3 weeks before your last spring frost, and again in late summer for a fall crop. Sow the seeds 0.5 cm deep in a row or scattered, and cover lightly. They sprout in 5 to 10 days: thin them to 20 cm apart for big leaves, or leave them closer and pick them small as baby greens.
Mustard greens are one of the fastest leafy crops, ready about 45 days after sowing, with baby leaves in half that time. They love cool weather: heat makes them bolt (rush to flower) and taste much hotter, so spring and fall crops are best.
When To Start
Mustard Greens likes cool weather. Sow it in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Mustard Greens?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Mustard Greens Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Mustard Greens Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow mustard greens now, and again in late summer
3 weeks before your last frost
Start picking mustard greens
About 25 days after you plant it
Did you water your mustard greens seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Time to thin the mustard greens seedlings: snip the extras at soil level so each one has room to grow.
About 20 days after you plant it
Your mustard greens are growing! You can start picking a few young leaves now, they are milder when small.
About 25 days after you plant it
Nice harvest ahead! Pick the outer leaves and let the centre keep growing.
About 40 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your mustard greens.
About 45 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Mustard Greens's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
0.5 cm
Seeding Depth
20 cm
Plant Spacing
30 cm
Row Spacing
4
Plants / Sq Ft
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
Yes.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 5–10 days
Growing Tips
- 1Grow mustard greens in full sun in spring and fall, or part shade in warm weather.
- 2Mix compost into the soil before sowing so the leaves grow fast and tender.
- 3Keep the soil evenly moist, because dry plants turn tough and fiery.
- 4Feed with compost tea every 2 to 3 weeks if you are picking often.
- 5Sow a short row every 2 to 3 weeks in spring and again in late summer for a steady supply.
- 6Tiny black flea beetles chew small holes in the leaves, so cover new sowings with row cover until the plants are bigger.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~45
Days to Maturity
40 cm
Mature Height
30 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
45 days
When to Pick
Pick young leaves from ~3 weeks; milder when small and cool-grown
How to Harvest
- 1Pick baby leaves for salads about 3 weeks after sowing, when they are 8 to 10 cm long.
- 2For cooking greens, let the leaves grow bigger, about 45 days after sowing.
- 3Pick the outer leaves and leave the centre to keep growing, or cut the whole plant 3 cm above the soil and it often grows back.
- 4Pick before hot weather, since a light frost makes the leaves sweeter and heat makes them sharper.
- 5Keep the leaves unwashed in a bag in the fridge for up to a week.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Mustard greens flower and make seed in their first season, and they cross with other mustard greens, so let only one variety flower at a time, and remember hybrid F1 seeds will not grow true. Let a few plants bolt (send up flower stalks) and leave the thin pods until most are tan and dry. Cut the stalks before the pods split open, and hang them in a paper bag to finish drying. Crush the pods to free the small round seeds, which are the brown mustard seed used as a spice. Store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry place, where they keep about 4 years.
Seed Production
Still have a question?
Ask your coach about your mustard greens.
This page covers what we thought to write down. Your mustard greens will do something it never mentions, and that is the day a coach beats a guide. Ask Coach Lumen one question right now, free, no account.
