Last edited by shiny on November 11, 2026. View history
Indian Mustard
Indian Mustard
How to sow indian mustard: Direct seed outdoors, thin seedings to 15cm apart
Sun requirement for indian mustard: Plant in Full Sun
Indian, or Brown, Mustard is a species of mustard plant grown for it's edible leaves, seeds, and stem. Young leaves are added to salads for a fresh, spicy flavor. Older leaves can be sautéed or preserved with their stems. Seeds are used to make essential oil and brown mustard, which is considered spicier than yellow mustard. Indian Mustard is a cool-weather crop and will bolt and go to seed in hot temperatures. Common varieties for greens include Osaka Purple, Tatsoi, and Mizuna. Good varieties for seeds include Caliente, Ida Gold, and Kodiak. Mustard greens are fast growing but vulnerable to flea beetles - use row covers and companion plants for protection. If growing for leaves, sow in spring and fall. If growing for seed, sow in spring, and harvest seed pods when they dry to tan in midsummer. Gather pods in a bag and let them dry until crispy.
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Indian mustard facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
40cm × 30cmRow Spacing
3cmCrop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For indian mustard, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 7°C and a shortest growing cycle of 50 days at its best temperature, about 725 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your indian mustard will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Plant indian mustard with
corn
Photos
Photos
Indian mustard plantings
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 50 to 100 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Brassica juncea (L.)Czern.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Dilleniidae Capparales Cruciferae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: 0 °C, rest: -5 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | shallow (20-50 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
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