California
Planting zones in Nevada County, California
This county spans USDA zones 6b to 9b, so there is no single zone for Nevada County and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 38% of its ZIP codes are zone 9a; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Nevada County, California as a whole. Hardiness zones and freeze dates are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact — enter it and this page will tell you your zone, which NOAA station it comes from and how far away that station is.
Nevada County does not have one planting answer
Its own weather stations disagree about 17 of the 32 crops in this table right now, so any single list would be wrong for part of the county. That is not a gap in the data — it is what the data says.
- Shortest season
- 108 days
TAHOE CITY, CA US (USC00048758) - Longest season
- 218 days
NEVADA CITY, CA US (USC00046136)
110 days of growing season separate those two stations, and both serve ZIP codes in Nevada County. The ZIP lookup above answers for one address instead of averaging a place that has no average.
Why the hardiness zone does not settle this
A USDA zone is a winter-minimum statistic. It was never a growing-season one, and it does not behave like one: within a single zone the growing season runs a median 54 days wider at the 10th–90th percentile, and annual growing degree days vary by 2.02×.
The zones also overlap rather than stack — 30% of zone 6b freezes before the median zone 6a station. The zone tells you what survives your winter; the station tells you what finishes before your autumn.
All 5 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 5 NOAA stations serving this county counts June 9 – September 25 as growing season (108 days). Widening to any single station gives April 10 – November 20 (224 days).
That is a 116-day difference inside one county — which is why this page gives ranges rather than a single planting date. The ZIP lookup above resolves it to one station.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Nevada County covers 4 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the county one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — fine for the 38% in zone 9a and wrong for the other 62%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9a | 3 | 38% | |
| 6b | 2 | 25% | |
| 9b | 2 | 25% | |
| 8b | 1 | 13% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the county's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Across the 5 NOAA stations serving this county. These are medians — half of years freeze later than the date shown — so treat the later end of each range as the cautious one.
The growing season runs 108–218 days depending which station you are nearest, as published by NOAA rather than computed from the dates above. Summer highs average 74.9–85.2 °F in June–August. Summer rain over the same months runs 0.8–1.4" across those 5 stations, against the rough inch a week — about 13 inches over the same 92 days — that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. The middle station covers about 8% of it, so a summer garden here is watered rather than rained on. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 81 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.
Every ZIP code in Nevada County
Zones are published per ZIP code, not per county, so this is the exact answer rather than the county's average. The station column is the nearest one to that ZIP code's centroid and how far away it is — the same figure the tools use, shown here so you can see which ZIP codes are well covered and which are reaching.
| ZIP code | USDA zone | Nearest NOAA station | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95945 | 9a | Nevada City, CA | 6.2 km |
| 95946 | 9b | Grass Valley #2, CA | 12.6 km |
| 95949 | 9b | Grass Valley #2, CA | 12.6 km |
| 95959 | 9a | Blue Canyon AP, CA | 16.1 km |
| 95975 | 9a | Grass Valley #2, CA | 7.7 km |
| 95986 | 8b | Blue Canyon AP, CA | 10.5 km |
| 96111 | 6b | Verdi 2W, CA | 11.9 km |
| 96161 | 6b | Tahoe City, CA | 21.2 km |
ZIP-code positions are area centroids, so a large rural ZIP code's listed distance is measured from the middle of its area rather than from any particular address in it.
When to start seeds in Nevada County
Every date below is anchored on the last spring freeze at each station and reported as a range across all 5 of them, because no one station speaks for the county.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🧅 Green Onions | Start indoors | February 13 – April 14 | 8 wk before |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Start indoors | February 13 – April 14 | 8 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🫛 Peas | Direct sow | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Spinach | Direct sow | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Start indoors | February 27 – April 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Start indoors | March 6 – May 5 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Start indoors | March 6 – May 5 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Start indoors | March 6 – May 5 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Arugula | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🥕 Beets | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Mustard Greens | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🌶️ Okra | Start indoors | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🌱 Radishes | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🥔 Turnips | Direct sow | March 13 – May 12 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Set out | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥕 Carrots | Direct sow | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Direct sow | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Set out | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Set out | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Direct sow | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Set out | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Set out | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Start indoors | March 20 – May 19 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Direct sow | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Set out | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Set out | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Cilantro | Direct sow | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Set out | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Direct sow | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Set out | March 27 – May 26 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Dill | Direct sow | April 3 – June 2 | 1 wk before |
| 🫘 Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Set out | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Set out | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Set out | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🌽 Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Set out | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Set out | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Direct sow | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Set out | April 17 – June 16 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 24 – June 23 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Direct sow | April 24 – June 23 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Set out | April 24 – June 23 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Set out | April 24 – June 23 | 2 wk after |
| 🫘 Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 24 – June 23 | 2 wk after |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Set out | April 24 – June 23 | 2 wk after |
Offsets are published guidance; the dates they land on are computed from measured NOAA normals. The seed-starting tool does this for your own ZIP code and counts the days.
What survives the winter changes across Nevada County
Zone 8b carries 54 of 74 perennial edibles; zone 9b carries 40. The best number is not always the warmest zone — the count peaks in the middle and falls both ways, because the warm end loses plants to insufficient winter chill and summer heat, not to cold.
Hardiness ranges are a judgement, published by growers rather than measured; the zone they are compared against is measured. On a warm-end verdict, check with your local extension service — a coastal zone 8 and an inland zone 8 are not the same summer.
Cautious — shortens the seasonMedian across stationsOptimistic
- Last spring freeze
- Plan to June 25 to be careful. Median April 10 – June 9 across 5 stations; March 15 is the optimistic end.
- First fall freeze
- Plan to September 9 to be careful. Median September 25 – November 20 across 5 stations; December 12 is the optimistic end.
NOAA publishes these as probabilities, not averages — the middle figure is a median, so half of years fall either side of it. The cautious end is the 10% tail: in roughly nine years in ten the freeze falls on the safe side of it.
The 5 stations behind these numbers
All 5 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 39 km north to south. Every one is named with its identifier in the station list below — this page does not single one out, because no one station speaks for a whole county.
A relative sketch, not a map with a projection: longitude is adjusted for latitude so the shape is not stretched, and there is no basemap. For the one station nearest a specific address, with its real distance, use the ZIP lookup above.
These are the stations this county's ZIP codes actually cite as nearest — not a claim that each one sits inside its boundary, since a rural ZIP legitimately reaches over it. Every figure above comes from them, and each is named so you can check it.
| Station | NOAA ID | Last spring freeze | First fall freeze | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Canyon AP, CA | USW00023225 | May 4 | November 4 | 183 days |
| Grass Valley #2, CA | USC00043573 | April 10 | November 13 | 215 days |
| Nevada City, CA | USC00046136 | April 14 | November 20 | 218 days |
| Tahoe City, CA | USC00048758 | June 9 | September 25 | 108 days |
| Verdi 2W, CA | USC00049298 | May 9 | October 17 | 156 days |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
Your own ZIP
Work out your own dates
This page describes a whole county. Every tool below answers for one ZIP code, which is the grain the underlying data is published at.
Other places to compare
Nevada County sits in California. That page carries the whole state's zone spread, its metro areas, and every other county in it with a page here.
More of California
- Sierra County, CA 6b, 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a
- Glenn County, CA 9a–9b
- Del Norte County, CA 8a, 9b
- Humboldt County, CA 9a–9b
- Mendocino County, CA 9a–10a
- Siskiyou County, CA 6b, 7b, 8a, 8b
- Calaveras County, CA 8b–9b
- Lassen County, CA 6a–7a
- Plumas County, CA 6b–8a
- Lake County, CA 8b–9b
- Tehama County, CA 7a, 7b, 9a, 9b
- Tuolumne County, CA 6a, 6b, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Gear
If you want to act on this
Each link opens an Amazon search rather than a product we picked. We have not tested these and do not rank them — the search is the honest version, and you choose.
- Row cover and frost clothThe season here closes at the first fall freeze dated above — a cover buys back some of those days at the end.
- MulchFor the perennials nearest their cold limit in zone 6b, where an insulated crown is what decides whether they come back.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. That costs you nothing extra, and it buys no influence over anything on this site: the dates come from NOAA normals and the zones from the USDA, and no product affects either.
Sources
Where these numbers come from
Hardiness zones are the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. Freeze dates and growing-season lengths are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, taken per station and cited above by name and NOAA ID.
County boundaries come from the Census ZCTA-to-county relation, which is what places each ZIP code — and which treats parishes, boroughs and census areas as county equivalents. No station is chosen to represent this county: every range above is taken across all of them and the count is stated, because picking one would be a judgement dressed as a measurement.