Nebraska spans USDA hardiness zones 4a-5b, with a growing season of about 170 frost-free days — a true four-season rhythm: spring greens, a full summer main crop, and a fall window that rewards planning.
Behind the zone label sits the real climate engine: 15-34 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,200 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,350 winter chill hours for tree fruit. Most ground here falls among loess, sandy loam (Sandhills), silt loam, and clay, whose drainage habits quietly decide which beds flourish. Nebraska is not one growing region but several — from High Plains and Nebraska Sandhills — each with its own zone band and frost timing. Expect sweet corn, tomato, cottonwood, and grape to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Nebraska spans zones 4a-5b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
Distinct growing regions within Nebraska — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
4a-5b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 15 - May 10
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Sep 25 - Oct 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
15-34 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Nebraska. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Nebraska — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Good — it absorbs rain readily and holds it in reach of roots — but it erodes faster than any other soil when left bare on a slope.
What thrives
Nearly everything: corn, small grains, and the full vegetable garden thrive in loess country, which is exactly why so much of it is farmed.
Drainage
Fast. The sand fraction opens the soil up, so water moves through the root zone quickly and the surface rarely stays soggy. The trade is that nutrients ride out with the water.
What thrives
Root crops love it — carrots, potatoes, radishes, and onions size up cleanly in ground they can push through. Melons, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and most herbs appreciate the warmth and the drainage.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
Drainage
Slow. Water enters clay reluctantly and leaves it the same way, so wet springs keep it cold and unworkable longer than lighter soils.
What thrives
Once established, heavy feeders prosper — brassicas, beans, corn, and many fruit trees ride clay’s nutrient supply and summer moisture reserve. Daylilies, roses, and prairie perennials handle it without complaint.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Nebraska's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Across Nebraska, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 1, with the middle half of counties between Mar 28 and Apr 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 27 and Nov 5 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With a season this long, “too late” mostly means “switch crops” — second sowings and a full fall garden are the norm, with garlic closing the year.
The plants Nebraska put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Goldenrod
Solidago gigantea
Designated 1895.
Eastern cottonwood
Populus deltoides
Designated 1972.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Nebraska — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps Nebraska’s USDA zones 4a-5b but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Low western rainfall (15 inches) requires irrigation
In the west, drip lines and deep mulch are the season — design the water first and the garden follows.
Extreme wind exposure on open plains
A windbreak earns its ground: even a shrub row or a snow fence cuts plant stress dramatically.
Hail damage during severe storm season
Keep row cover or hail netting staged through the storm months — five minutes of cover can save the whole bed.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Nebraska, the Nebraska Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Nebraska — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Nebraska — 10,663 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 162 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Nebraska carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across Nebraska
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Nebraska, two things run higher than the national average — CAFO (700 sites) and Nitrate (4,328 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Nebraska spans USDA hardiness zones 4a-5b, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Across Nebraska, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 1, with the middle half of counties between Mar 28 and Apr 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 27 and Nov 5 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With a season this long, “too late” mostly means “switch crops” — second sowings and a full fall garden are the norm, with garlic closing the year.
Across Nebraska, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Mar 28 and Apr 7, with a county median near Apr 1 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — light frosts can still bite for a few more weeks, so tender transplants usually wait another 2–3 weeks.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Nebraska's counties mostly run about 203 to 223 days, with a county median near 213 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Nebraska's zones 4a-5b support a wide range — strong performers include Sweet Corn, Tomato, Cottonwood, Grape, and Sunflower. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, Nebraska spans USDA zones 4a-5b (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,112 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Nebraska runs heavier than most — 10,663 documented sites — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.
Start with three facts. Nebraska spans USDA zones 4a-5b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Mar 28 to Apr 7 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 10,663 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a Nebraska average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Nebraska.
Nebraska shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
