When to plant Mustard in Subtropical Australia

Subtropical zone — applies to Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Coffs Harbour, Lismore and similar areas. Growing elsewhere? Temperate · Cool · Tropical · Arid.

Sow mustard direct in any month of the year in the subtropics, with the mild cooler months giving the cleanest, mildest leaves and the least bolting. Set seed 6 mm deep into moist, fertile soil; it germinates in 6–12 days and matures in 30–60 days depending on how you grow it. Space plants 30–40 cm apart with rows 40–60 cm apart for full heads, or sow thickly for cut-and-come-again baby leaves. Around Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Lismore this hardy, fast brassica is easy and productive, delivering pungent leaves for salads, stir-fries and braises, and it also makes a useful quick green-manure crop between plantings.

Sowing calendar — subtropical zone

Green months are your sowing window: January to December.

Growing notes

Mustard is one of the quickest and most reliable greens for subtropical gardens, tolerating the mild winters and cropping fast enough to slot between longer-season vegetables. Sow into moist, fertile soil in a bright spot and you will be picking leaves within a few weeks.

Bolting is the main thing to manage. Warm weather, dry spells and long days push mustard to flower early, after which the leaves turn fiery and coarse. Favour the cooler months for your main sowings, keep water consistent, and harvest young to stay ahead of the seed stalk. That said, if you want the fiery flavour, mature summer-grown mustard delivers plenty of heat.

As a brassica, mustard draws caterpillars, aphids and flea beetles that chew and stipple the leaves, and slugs and snails will shred seedlings after subtropical rain. Fine mesh netting over the bed keeps most pests off and the foliage clean. In prolonged wet, space plants for airflow and water at the base to reduce downy mildew and leaf spot. Left to flower and dug in young, a quick mustard crop also works as a green manure to add organic matter between plantings.

Mustard at a glance

Common questions

when can I plant mustard in the subtropics

You can sow it in any month, but the mild cooler months give the mildest leaves and the least bolting. Summer sowings grow fast but tend to run to seed and taste hotter.

why is my mustard so hot and bitter

Heat, dryness and bolting drive up the pungency and toughen the leaves. Grow it through the cooler months, water consistently, and harvest young for milder, more tender greens.

can you use mustard as a green manure

Yes. A quick mustard crop sown thickly and dug in while still young adds organic matter and helps break pest and disease cycles between plantings, which is useful in busy subtropical beds.

what pests attack mustard greens in Brisbane

Caterpillars, aphids and flea beetles chew and stipple the leaves, and slugs and snails shred seedlings after rain. Fine mesh netting over the bed keeps most of them off and keeps the leaves clean for eating.

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