What Grows in Grant, Nebraska

USDA Zones 5b · 501 acres

Grant, Nebraska, sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Expect cabbage, cranberry, lavender, and collard greens to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Grant, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Grant lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data around Grant — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Grant — the short answer

Grant, Nebraska: USDA zone 5b, about 180 days between hard freezes, across 501 acres of city.

USDA zone
5b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 21
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 18
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~180
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
501 acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

5b5b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 5b is Grant's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Grant's 180-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Grant

Each reading below is measured for Grant itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

Measured

Grant runs about 180 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Grant sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Grant is in

Grant sits in the High Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Grant's own centroid rather than borrowed from Perkins County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Grant

Every plant below cleared Grant's own zone 5b and its 180-day season. Each card opens that plant's Nebraska profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in NebraskaZones 2–11Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Nebraska cranberry guideZones 2–7Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in NebraskaZones 5–8Grant's 5b is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Nebraska growing notesZones 2–11Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Growing hazelnut in NebraskaZones 4–9Grant's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Nebraska st. johns wort guideZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in NebraskaZones 2–10Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: Nebraska growing notesZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in NebraskaGrant's 180 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Nebraska kale guideZones 2–11Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry in NebraskaZones 5–8Grant's 5b is its exact cold limit.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Nebraska growing notesZones 2–11Grant's 180 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in NebraskaZones 2–12Grant's 180 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Nebraska potato guideZones 2–11Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in NebraskaZones 3–11Grant's 180 days clear the ~40 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Nebraska growing notesZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in NebraskaZones 2–11Grant's 180 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Nebraska azalea guideZones 4–8Grant's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in NebraskaZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Nebraska growing notesZones 3–10Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in NebraskaGrant's 180 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Nebraska lilac guideZones 4–10Grant's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in NebraskaZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Canada anemone, photograph
Canada anemone: Nebraska growing notesZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in NebraskaZones 3–9Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Nebraska alfalfa guideZones 2–10Grant's 180 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in NebraskaZones 2–7Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Nebraska growing notesZones 2–8Grant's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
annual ryegrass, photograph
Growing annual ryegrass in NebraskaZones 3–10Grant's 180 days clear the ~90 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Nebraska canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Grant's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Grant?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 24; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 21 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 18 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. As the window narrows, the plantings just get faster — fall brassicas, then greens, then garlic to finish.

What's on the federal record near Grant

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Grant. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. KWIK STOP #12Underground Storage Tanks · 200 ft
  2. IN AND OUTUnderground Storage Tanks · 350 ft
  3. FRENCHMAN VALLEY COOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 350 ft
  4. PERKINS COUNTY KEY PUMP/WENDELLs IRRIGATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  5. SARGENT IRRIGATION COBrownfields · 2600 ft
  6. BASF CORPORATION @ HI-LINE COOPERATIVEBrownfields · 1.0 mi
  7. 10N 38W19BCCC1Nitrate · 1.9 mi
  8. DUDDEN IMPLEMENT COUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.3 mi
  9. 9N 39W 2DDDD1 GRANT SOUTHNitrate · 5.0 mi
  10. 11N 39W21AAAC1Nitrate · 5.3 mi
  11. 9N 38W 7AAAA2Nitrate · 5.4 mi
  12. 10N 40W24BBCA1Nitrate · 6.0 mi

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Grant's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Grant.

Total Sites

35

within ~10 miles of Grant

Risk Level

Low

Highest-severity

1 Toxics Release Inventory facility

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Grant

High0Moderate31Low4

Highest-Severity Sites

10N 37W 6aaaa1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
10N 37W 6aaaa1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
10N 38w19bccc1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
10N 38w19bccc1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
10N 40w24bbca1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Grant, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 24 sites within ~10 miles of Grant. It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Grant

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Grant average

Your land is one point inside Grant

Everything above resolves to Grant as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 501 acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at city scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Grant Average

Grant Average

  • USDA Zones 5b, averaged across Grant
  • One soil character for all of Grant
  • Frost dates read at Grant's scale: Apr 21 to Oct 18

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Grant's 5b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Grant

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Grant, Nebraska — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Grant averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Grant averages 180Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Grant — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Grant average

How we know this about Grant

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Grant’s own record; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Grant

When does frost risk typically end in Grant?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Grant typically lands around Apr 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about May 12.

When is the first frost in Grant?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Grant typically arrives around Oct 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 4, so the watching starts about Sep 18 — about 180 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Grant?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Grant sees about 180 frost-free days — roughly Apr 21 through Oct 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 12 to Oct 4, about 145 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Grant?

The federal record around Grant is light — 35 documented sites across the 9 federal source types we checked, mostly Nitrate entries (24), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out — and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. Growing food here starts from a strong position; a soil test before new food beds settles any site-specific question.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Grant?

From about Sep 18 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Oct 18 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Oct 18. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Grant's scale — its 5b band and its 180-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Grant's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Grant’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Grant's own scale — its own ~180-day season between 28°F freezes, the 501 acres it covers and 35 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Grant's own USDA hardiness band, zones 5bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Grant's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 21 and Oct 18 and the ~180-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 35 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Grant, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Grant's boundary and the 501 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 5b and a ~180-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Grant's own centroid, the High PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Grant's 501 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Perkins County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Perkins County
  • The growing challenges every Nebraska grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Nebraska
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Perkins County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Grant's 501 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Grant you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 501 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Grant-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address