When to Sow Carrots in Nevada: Counting Back From the Last Frost
Nevada’s last frost date swings by weeks depending on elevation, from the low desert floor around Las Vegas to high mountain valleys near Elko, and no…
Gardening in Nevada
Everything we have worked out for Nevada: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Las Vegas, the last spring freeze runs January 7 to February 1 and the first fall freeze runs December 8 to December 23, USDA zones 4a-10a, 6,694 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic does well: 8.7 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Nevada: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Will Carrots Fork in Nevada Soil?
Nevada’s state soil, the sandy Orovada series, is well drained and light enough that carrots planted in it are unlikely to fork from clay alone.
When to Sow Beets in Nevada
Nevada’s answer depends more on elevation than on any calendar page. In the low desert valleys around Las Vegas, gardeners get into the ground weeks…
Beet Soil in Nevada: What the Root Will Meet
Nevada’s official state soil, the Orovada series, is a sandy, well-drained Aridisol with an alkaline surface pH near 7.5 and barely 1.4 percent organic…
Growing Parsnips in Nevada: Will They Sweeten?
Whether parsnips sweeten in Nevada depends almost entirely on which part of the state you’re standing in.
Why Peppers Fail to Set Fruit in Nevada
Nevada’s pepper plants abort their flowers mostly because of heat. Las Vegas logs 131.3 days a year at 90°F or above, and pepper fruit set collapses once…
When to Start Pepper Seed in Nevada
Start pepper seed indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your local transplant date, and transplant only after frost has passed and soil has warmed to 60 F.
Growing Carrots in Nevada: Soil, Sowing and Forked Roots
Nevada’s official state soil, the Orovada series, is sandy and well drained with an alkaline surface pH near 7.5, a texture that generally resists the…
Growing Beets in Nevada: Soil, Sowing and Bolting
Nevada’s official state soil, the Orovada series, is 66 percent sand and only 8 percent clay, alkaline at the surface, and well drained.
When Does the Heating Season Start in Nevada?
Heating demand in Nevada begins in November, based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 30-year climate normals for the Las Vegas area.