How to Grow White Mustards

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. White Mustard (Sinapis alba)
  2. At a Glance
  3. Quick Facts
  4. Growth Stages
  5. Harvest & Storage
  6. Diseases
  7. Pests
  8. Plan your White Mustards planting
  9. Growing White Mustard in another region
  10. Sources
  11. Frequently Asked Questions

White mustards (Sinapis alba) — Annual herbaceous plant.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

White Mustard (Sinapis alba)

A honey bee foraging on white mustard (Sinapis alba) flowers — “Honey bee on White mustard (48325636566)” by Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

2 sources cited · Verified

At a Glance

Close-up of a white mustard flower cluster — “Sinapis alba of Farm Tomita 03” by LR0725 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Sinapis alba of Farm Tomita 03” by LR0725 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sinapis alba White Mustard Clubroot White mold (Sclerotinia… Cabbage caterpillars Flea beetles DISEASES PESTS

Quick Facts

An upright flowering white mustard stem — “Sinapis alba Gorczyca biała 2020-07-10 01” by Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Sinapis alba Gorczyca biała 2020-07-10 01” by Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Drainage Fertile, well-drained (RHS); NDSU: avoid drought-prone sandy soils, prefers good moisture.
Lifecycle Annual herbaceous plant.
Edible parts seeds, leaves

Growth Stages

A white mustard stem with flowers and developing pods — “Sinapis alba Gorczyca biała 2020-07-10 02” by Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Sinapis alba Gorczyca biała 2020-07-10 02” by Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing 0 NDSU: sow late April to mid-May, 0.5-1.5in deep into a moist, firm seedbed via drill or air seeder -- early planting on a firm seedbed supports vigour. RHS: propagate by seed into fertile, well-drained soil in full sun.
Seedling establishment 1 NDSU: flea beetles cause early-season "shot-holed" damage on seedlings -- treatment is only warranted once defoliation exceeds 25%. Cool temperatures and good moisture at this stage extend flowering and boost eventual yield.
Flowering 6 RHS: bright yellow flowers appear from May through to August or September, valued as a food source for wildlife.
Pod maturity and harvest 8 RHS: flowers are followed by dark red-to-brown seeds. NDSU: harvest by straight combining once pods are mature and dry, ideally at 12-15% seed moisture, around 85-90 days from sowing.

Harvest & Storage

White mustard flowers with young seed pods forming — “Sinapis alba 002” by H. Zell is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Sinapis alba 002” by H. Zell is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

When to pick: NDSU: harvest by straight combining once pods are mature and dry, ideally at 12-15% seed moisture for best quality -- crop matures 85-90 days from sowing.

Storage

Store dried seed in an airtight container; used to make table and hot-dog mustard, or in processed meats for flavour, emulsification and water binding (NDSU).

Diseases

A patch of flowering white mustard plants — “Sinapis alba of Farm Tomita 04” by LR0725 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Sinapis alba of Farm Tomita 04” by LR0725 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Clubroot
moderate

Plasmodiophora brassicae

Named by RHS as the main UK disease risk for this brassica-family crop; NDSU's commercial-growing guidance does not mention it, instead flagging Sclerotinia -- a genuine regional difference kept honest rather than…

White mold (Sclerotinia stem rot)
moderate

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Named specifically by NDSU as a serious risk in commercial mustard production; recommends avoiding rotation with canola, sunflower or beans to reduce the risk.

Pests

A honey bee foraging on white mustard (Sinapis alba) flowers — “Honey bee on White mustard (48325636566)” by Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
“Honey bee on White mustard (48325636566)” by Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Cabbage caterpillars
low

Pieris brassicae; Pieris rapae; Pieris napi; Mamestra brassicae; Plutella xylostella

Named by RHS as a general risk for this brassica-family crop.

Flea beetles
moderate

Chrysomelidae: Alticini (various spp.)

Named independently by both RHS and NDSU -- NDSU describes a "shot-holed" leaf appearance on seedlings, treatment warranted only above 25% defoliation.

Plan your White Mustards planting

Timing for White Mustards follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing White Mustard in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (North Dakota State University Agriculture Extension, Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to white mustards; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What problems affect white mustards?

Our data links 2 diseases and 2 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

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Last verified 2026-09-04

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More from the same group (brassicas & mustards):

Relevant next steps

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