Yes — Strong Match
mustard greens is grown in zones 2-11, which covers every zone Kansas contains (5b-7a). Whether the season is long enough is the question that remains.
Mustard Greens in Kansas — the short answer
Mustard Greens in Kansas: grown in zones 2–11, part sun, against a state median of ~208 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 2-11
- Not verified
- Kansas zones
- 5b-7a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 1 - Apr 12 – Oct 25 - Nov 3
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 177 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 60 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Kansas spans zones 5b-7a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score mustard greens against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Kansas is not one climate
A single Kansas answer averages 105 counties whose growing seasons are 54 days apart — from 177 frost-free days in Greeley County to 231 in Crawford County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what mustard greens can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 105 counties runs 197–216 days, with a median of 208 days — a 54-day span end to end.
Measured across 105 Kansas counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where in Kansas Fits Best
Even within Kansas's zones 5b-7a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for mustard greens (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Mustard Greens Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-11
- Frost-Free Days: 50+
- Sun: Part SunWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Mature size: 1.5 ft tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Picking window: ~20 days of harvestWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Drought tolerance: Low
Kansas Has
- USDA Zones: 5b-7a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 1 - Apr 12
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 25 - Nov 3
- Annual Rainfall: 16-42 inches
- Common Soils: Prairie loam, Silt loam, Clay
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-11)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Mustard Greens in Kansas
The frost window
Across Kansas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 1 and Apr 12, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 25 and Nov 3 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 196-day window you can count on — up to 216 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when mustard greens goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 4 weeks ahead, so counting back from Kansas's late-side last freeze of Apr 12 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Winter standing
Kansas runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for mustard greens, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether mustard greens is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Kansas; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
Mustard Greens is grown in zones 2–11, which covers every zone Kansas contains (5b-7a). It is grown as a summer crop, so season length decides it here. Kansas's typical season runs ~208 frost-free days against the ~50 mustard greens needs.
Frost-free days
Mustard Greens wants 50+ frost-free days; a typical Kansas site sees ~208 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Mustard Greens needs ~1000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~3821 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Kansas's typical season clears that easily.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Mustard Greens tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Kansas. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Kansas soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Kansas site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Kansas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant mustard greens for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before mustard greens goes in. What follows is Kansas’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across Kansas — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Kansas — 11,979 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 146 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Kansas carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Kansas
Severity Distribution
across Kansas
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Kansas, two things run higher than the national average across Kansas — CAFO (485 sites) and Brownfields (908 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties that EPA’s Brownfields program (ACRES) has assessed or funded cleanup on.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Contact the EPA Brownfields program or the state cleanup agency for this site’s actual assessment/remediation status — ACRES itself does not publish one we can read per site.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Mustard Greens in Kansas
The zone range tells you where mustard greens is grown — but Kansas growers also need to think about:
Low rainfall in western KS requires irrigation
Extreme wind and hail during severe storm season
Hot dry summers with 100F+ days
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Kansas grower, not just mustard greens — is covered on the Kansas growing guide.
Timing shifts within Kansas
Mustard Greens needs about 50 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Greeley County — Kansas’s shortest season at 177 frost-free days — clears that by 127 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Kansas. What varies is your own parcel.
County last-freeze dates and frost-free day counts: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). Mustard Greens's 50-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Mustard Greens draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, mustard greens can only work that bloom inside Kansas's frost window — roughly 208 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 1 - Apr 12) and closing at the first (Oct 25 - Nov 3), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Kansas Cooperative Extension
For Kansas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for mustard greens, the canonical source is K-State Research and Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Mustard Greens native to Kansas?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Mustard Greens as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Kansas's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Kansas natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Kansas growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Kansas and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Mustard Greens in Kansas
When can I plant Mustard Greens in Kansas?
Kansas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 1 and Apr 12, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 25 and Nov 3 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Mustard Greens, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Kansas and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.
What hardiness zone is Mustard Greens grown in across Kansas?
Kansas spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-7a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Mustard Greens carries a range of zones 2-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Kansas site have?
A typical Kansas site sees ~208 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Mustard Greens needs 50+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Mustard Greens native to Kansas?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Mustard Greens as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Kansas's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Kansas natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Mustard Greens in Kansas?
Mustard Greens tolerates pH 5-8 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Kansas site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Mustard Greens actually grow on my specific land in Kansas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores mustard greens against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Kansas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores mustard greens against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Kansas mustard greens averages can't show:
We read public map data around Kansas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Kansas mustard greens average
Explore More
Growing guides for mustard greens
Explore Kansas county by county
Kansas carries 105 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for mustard greens there:
Where else mustard greens grows
Mustard Greens's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Kansas in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Kansas
Kansas has a growing page for 889 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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