Nevada · zones 5b–9a
When to plant broccoli in Nevada.
Sow or transplant between Mar 18 to Apr 15 in a typical year, keyed to Nevada's median last frost around May 9. A second, fall sowing fits Jun 14 to Jul 24. Dates below are state medians; your ZIP code shifts them by days to weeks.
The 2026 windows
Broccoli dates for a typical Nevada season.
1 · Start indoors
Feb 4 to Mar 4
About 6 weeks before set-out. Warm spot, real light.
2 · Set out
Mar 18 to Apr 15
Keyed to the ~May 9 last frost. Sow 0.5" deep, 18" apart.
Fall round
Jun 14 to Jul 24
Counted back from the ~Sep 28 first frost.
Harvest
~60 days later
~1.2 lb per plant over ~3 weeks.
Nevada spans more than one climate: Zone 6 is the most common zone, but the state runs 5b to 9a. That's why the planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not your zone: mountain and coastal gardens in the same state can be three weeks apart.
Nevada growing notes
Broccoli forms one head per plant, and the window to size it up right sits tighter between a late cold snap and rising heat than almost anything else transplanted into a Nevada garden.
One head, and the calendar decides its size
A transplant checked hard by a late cold snap right after it goes into a Nevada bed can commit to a head that never sizes up past a couple of inches, no matter how well it's fed afterward, since broccoli forms just one head per plant and gets only one real shot at growing it well. Spaced a full 18 inches apart, wider than any of the other brassicas grown here, it needs about 60 days to size up that head. One that goes in on time and grows on without that check carries no such ceiling.
The opposite failure comes later, once the head has formed and weather turns against it before harvest. A tight, closed head left too long into rising heat loosens, and individual flower buds inside it start to show yellow before the whole head opens into a loose, unusable spray. The test that beats the calendar: a head that still looks tight, dark, and closed is still good regardless of the date, and the moment any yellow shows inside the buds, cutting immediately saves more of the harvest than waiting one more day would.
Why fall carries less risk than spring
Both failures trace to the same problem: broccoli's head-forming stretch needs to land inside a run of real cool weather, and Nevada's jump from a cold, changeable spring straight into settled heat gives less cushion than the slower slide from summer into fall. A spring transplant races the state's own zone range, from the mild low desert up through the colder 6a and 7a ground, to finish before heat arrives. A fall transplant heads instead into cooling weather that only grows more favorable as the head fills out, and in the low desert's milder winters, it can keep sizing up well past the point a colder zone would already call the season closed.
Waltham 29, an old cool-season variety, is a common choice for that fall push into the low desert's mild winter, while the hybrid Belstar, bred for both temperature extremes, gives more flexibility to a spring planting that might get caught by an early warm spell. Either way, the 1.2 pounds of head this crop yields per plant comes from that one committed planting, not a string of retries.
What hides inside the head, and what does not
Cabbage worms and loopers matter most on broccoli because of where they end up: a caterpillar starting on an outer leaf can work its way into the tight nooks of the forming head, out of sight and reach of anything sprayed on afterward. A harvested head is worth soaking cut-side down in salted water for a few minutes before cooking; any worms hidden in the florets lose their grip and float free. Checking the outer leaves for chewed holes and egg clusters every few days while the head forms catches most of the problem before it gets that far.
The same early-transplant risk from flea beetles applies here as elsewhere in a Nevada brassica bed: small shot holes in a plant that usually has leaf area to spare and grow past them. Aphids gather in the crown just below where the head is forming, easy to overlook until numerous since the developing head hides them from a casual glance. Cabbage root maggot targets the root during that same early transplant stage, and a cardboard collar fitted around the stem at planting blocks it before it starts; black rot marks a leaf with a yellow V pointed in from the outer edge, the veins inside gone dark, usually starting on the lower leaves shaded longest under the head's own canopy.
In Nevada: watch for
The pests that find broccoli here.
The short season here, about 142 frost-free days, keeps broccoli in front of cabbage worms & loopers only briefly. One early row cover usually carries a planting through the worst of it.
Green caterpillars chewing ragged holes; green droppings.
Organic fix: Handpick, cover with netting, spray Bt.
Gray-green clusters tucked into the leaf folds.
Organic fix: Blast with water, then insecticidal soap.
Tiny holes peppering the young leaves.
Organic fix: Row cover from day one; diatomaceous earth.
Black rot
Yellow V-shaped wedges cutting in from the leaf edge, veins blackening inside.
Organic fix: Pull infected plants, water at the base, keep brassicas out of that bed 3 years.
Seedlings wilt, yellow and stall for no reason; white maggots tunnel the roots.
Organic fix: Row cover before the flies are up, when yellow rocket blooms; rotate the bed.
Your season math: Nevada gives broccoli about 142 frost-free days, and it needs roughly 60 days to a first harvest. It's a one-planting crop, so time that single sowing well.
Planting broccoli in Nevada: questions
When should I plant broccoli in Nevada?+
In a typical Nevada year, sow broccoli or set out transplants between Mar 18 to Apr 15, keyed to the state's median last frost around May 9. There's also a fall window: Jun 14 to Jul 24. Your exact dates shift with your ZIP code and microclimate.
When do I start broccoli seeds indoors in Nevada?+
Start seeds inside about 6 weeks before set-out: roughly Feb 4 to Mar 4 for a typical Nevada season.
What USDA zone is Nevada?+
Nevada spans zones 5b–9a, mostly zone 6. But frost dates, not zones, set planting time. The free planner uses your ZIP code's actual frost dates.
How many broccoli plants do I need?+
Depends who you're feeding. The crop page has exact counts per household size, or the free planner does the math for your family in about 60 seconds.