When to plant in a short Nebraska season
A simple guide based on our timing in North Platte. Treat these as starting points: watch the forecast, feel the soil, and adjust for your own spot.
Through the season
- Late March – April
Peas and spinach go in
Direct sow Sugar Snap peas and Bloomsdale spinach as soon as the soil can be worked. Both handle cold soil and light frost. Kale can be started indoors now, or sown outdoors in April.
- Late March – early April
Start tomatoes indoors
Sow Stupice, Glacier, Cherokee Purple, and Gold Nugget indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting. Give them bright light and a warm spot to germinate.
- Mid April – May
Roots and early greens
Direct sow Detroit Dark Red beets and Danvers 126 carrots once the soil has warmed a little. Keep the seedbed evenly moist until they are up. Calendula can be sown now or started indoors.
- Around May 10
Average last frost
Frost is still possible after this date in some years. Keep row cover or old sheets handy.
- Mid – late May
Transplant tomatoes, sow beans
Harden off tomato starts for a week, then transplant once nights stay reliably above freezing, typically mid to late May. Sow Provider bush beans once the soil is warm, from late May into June.
- June – early July
Keep things growing
Mulch to hold moisture through hot, windy stretches. Stake or cage tomatoes. Pick peas and spinach before summer heat makes them fade.
- Mid July – August
Sow fall greens
Sow kale from mid-July and spinach in August for fall harvests. Beets and carrots sown in July can size up before cold weather. Kale and spinach handle light frosts and often taste sweeter afterward.
- Early October
Average first fall frost
Pick ripe and near-ripe tomatoes before a hard freeze. Cover greens on cold nights to stretch the harvest.
At a glance
- Start indoors
- Direct sow
- Transplant
- Average frost date
| Crop | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peas (Sugar Snap) | Sow late | Direct sow | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Spinach (Bloomsdale) | Sow late | Direct sow | — | — | — | Fall sow | Early | — |
| Kale | Start indoors | Sow / plant out | — | — | Fall sow | Early | — | — |
| Tomatoes | Start late | Start early | Mid–late | — | — | — | — | — |
| Beets & carrots | — | Mid–late | Direct sow | — | Fall sow | — | — | — |
| Bush beans (Provider) | — | — | Late | Direct sow | Early | — | — | — |
| Calendula | — | Indoors / sow | Direct sow | — | — | — | — | — |
| Frost | — | — | ~May 10 last | — | — | — | — | Early Oct first |
Every year is a little different. A late cold snap or an early hard freeze can shift these windows by a week or two. When in doubt, wait for the soil to warm.