When to Plant Potatoes in Nevada: Counting Back From Your Last Frost
Nevada has no single planting date because it has no single climate. In Las Vegas, the last spring freeze can fall as early as January 7, according to…
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.
Harvesting and Storing Potatoes in Nevada
In most of Nevada, potatoes come out of the ground before the local first frost, which arrives far earlier at elevation than in the Las Vegas valley.
Potato Varieties That Suit Nevada
The short answer: match the variety’s season class, not its name, to how many soil-days above 90 F your part of Nevada racks up before summer sets in.
What to Plant in Nevada in September
Across Nevada, September splits into two very different gardens: in the low desert around Las Vegas, soil is still warm and frost is months away, so…
What to Plant in Nevada in October
Nevada’s October answer splits by elevation and latitude more than any other month on the calendar.
What to Plant in Nevada in November
What to plant in Nevada in November depends almost entirely on where in the state you’re standing.
What to Plant in Nevada in May
May splits Nevada in two. In the low desert around Las Vegas, the frost season closed months ago and the soil is already warm enough for tomatoes…
What to Plant in Nevada in March
March splits Nevada in two. In the low desert around Las Vegas, the ground is already past its frost risk and cool-season crops can go straight into open…
What to Plant in Nevada in June
June in Nevada splits into two very different gardens. In the low desert around Las Vegas, warm-season crops are already established, and the real task…
What to Plant in Nevada in July
Nevada in July means two different gardens depending on where you stand. In the low desert around Las Vegas, the ground is often too hot to plant…