When to plant in Sparks, NV

Planting dates worked out from Sparks's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

May 20

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 26

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 20

1 year in 10 by Oct 6

Frost-free days

180

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Reno Ap · 3.3 km away · station 1343 m, town 1345 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 14
Sweet pepper	Mar 11 – Mar 25	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 19
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 22 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 8
Peas	—	Mar 15 – Apr 12	May 9
Bush beans	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 2
Carrot	—	Apr 5 – May 17	Jun 4
Beet	—	Mar 29 – May 10	May 18
Potato	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 14
Kale	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 11
Broccoli	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 19	May 28
Cucumber	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 9
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 4
Winter squash	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Aug 8
Sweet corn	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 12
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 29 – Apr 19	Jun 27
Garlic	—	Oct 6 – Nov 3 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 15 – Apr 12	Apr 22
Basil	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 16

Plan all 65 crops for Sparks

Sparks's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1937	Jun 1
1938	May 7
1939	Jun 17
1940	May 6
1941	Jun 25
1942	May 31
1943	Jun 25
1944	Jun 16
1945	Jun 16
1946	Jun 7
1947	Jun 4
1948	May 14
1949	Jun 1
1950	Jun 8
1951	Jun 3
1952	Jun 15
1953	Jun 13
1954	Jun 6
1955	Jun 1
1956	May 15
1957	May 15
1958	May 13
1959	May 29
1960	Jun 21
1961	May 27
1962	Jun 7
1963	Jun 29
1964	May 21
1965	Jun 13
1966	Jun 3
1967	May 14
1968	Jun 13
1969	May 5
1970	May 15
1971	Jun 2
1972	May 18
1973	May 26
1974	Jun 27
1975	May 12
1976	Jun 6
1977	May 28
1978	May 31
1979	Jun 8
1980	Jun 6
1981	Jun 13
1982	Jun 3
1983	May 17
1984	May 16
1985	May 30
1986	May 22
1987	May 2
1988	Jun 6
1989	May 30
1990	Jun 1
1991	May 27
1992	Apr 23
1993	Apr 24
1994	Apr 11
1995	Apr 22
1996	May 20
1997	May 2
1998	May 18
1999	May 15
2000	May 11
2001	Apr 22
2002	May 22
2003	Apr 30
2004	Apr 18
2005	Apr 20
2006	Apr 18
2007	Apr 19
2008	May 1
2009	Apr 29
2010	May 23
2011	May 16
2012	Apr 15
2013	Apr 18
2014	Apr 5
2015	Apr 16
2016	Mar 31
2017	Apr 15
2018	Apr 13
2019	Mar 29
2020	Apr 14
2021	Apr 26
2022	May 11
2023	Apr 19
2024	Apr 8

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1937	114
1938	148
1939	108
1940	135
1941	75
1942	110
1943	65
1944	93
1945	98
1946	101
1947	105
1948	133
1949	108
1950	112
1951	100
1952	118
1953	108
1954	101
1955	106
1956	149
1957	127
1958	132
1959	108
1960	62
1961	99
1962	63
1963	56
1964	102
1965	91
1966	88
1967	122
1968	69
1969	150
1970	120
1971	92
1972	115
1973	88
1974	76
1975	147
1976	127
1977	112
1978	99
1979	134
1980	128
1981	108
1982	99
1983	149
1984	131
1985	104
1986	115
1987	164
1988	145
1989	127
1990	128
1991	149
1992	193
1993	185
1994	186
1995	160
1996	144
1997	156
1998	151
1999	153
2000	153
2001	184
2002	149
2003	183
2004	184
2005	192
2006	182
2007	169
2008	161
2009	158
2010	155
2011	162
2012	190
2013	178
2014	204
2015	201
2016	229
2017	179
2018	184
2019	194
2020	193
2021	168
2022	164
2023	190
2024	192

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1937	16.4 °C
1938	16.4 °C
1939	17.6 °C
1940	17.1 °C
1941	15.1 °C
1942	15.4 °C
1943	15.8 °C
1944	14.7 °C
1945	15.4 °C
1946	15.9 °C
1947	15.9 °C
1948	14.9 °C
1949	15.9 °C
1950	15.6 °C
1951	16.1 °C
1952	15.8 °C
1953	14.7 °C
1954	15.6 °C
1955	15.0 °C
1956	15.3 °C
1957	15.5 °C
1958	16.2 °C
1959	15.9 °C
1960	15.8 °C
1961	15.7 °C
1962	14.9 °C
1963	14.7 °C
1964	15.0 °C
1965	14.6 °C
1966	16.2 °C
1967	15.4 °C
1968	15.3 °C
1969	16.6 °C
1970	16.4 °C
1971	15.2 °C
1972	15.8 °C
1973	15.9 °C
1974	15.5 °C
1975	15.2 °C
1976	15.2 °C
1977	16.3 °C
1978	15.0 °C
1979	16.5 °C
1980	16.2 °C
1981	17.3 °C
1982	15.3 °C
1983	15.5 °C
1984	16.8 °C
1985	17.1 °C
1986	16.8 °C
1987	18.1 °C
1988	18.0 °C
1989	17.4 °C
1990	18.1 °C
1991	16.8 °C
1992	18.9 °C
1993	16.8 °C
1994	19.0 °C
1995	16.7 °C
1996	16.6 °C
1997	16.7 °C
1998	17.1 °C
1999	17.6 °C
2000	18.8 °C
2001	19.5 °C
2002	19.1 °C
2003	19.2 °C
2004	19.6 °C
2005	18.6 °C
2006	19.7 °C
2007	20.1 °C
2008	19.4 °C
2009	19.6 °C
2010	18.1 °C
2011	18.4 °C
2012	20.4 °C
2013	20.0 °C
2014	20.3 °C
2015	19.9 °C
2016	19.9 °C
2017	20.4 °C
2018	20.6 °C
2019	19.6 °C
2020	19.9 °C
2021	20.7 °C
2022	20.1 °C
2023	19.6 °C
2024	20.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1937, Sparks's last spring frost has come about 7 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 12 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Reno Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Reno Sun Valley Golden Valley Spanish Springs Lemmon Valley Mogul