Lincoln, NE · zone 5b · ~172 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Lincoln.
In Lincoln, the typical last spring frost lands around Apr 24 and the first fall frost around Oct 13, giving you about 172 frost-free days. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost; warm-season crops wait until after it.
The 2026 windows
Sow dates for Lincoln, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Mar 20 to May 20 | May 1 to Jul 1 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Mar 17 to May 1 | Jul 30 to Sep 28 |
| Carrot | — | Mar 17 to Apr 19 | Jul 18 to Aug 13 |
| Bush Bean | — | Apr 24 to Jun 14 | Jun 29 to Aug 1 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | May 1 to Jul 31 | Jun 12 to Jul 13 |
| Pepper, bell | Mar 29 to May 20 | May 10 to Jul 1 | — |
| Kale | Feb 3 to Mar 3 | Mar 17 to Apr 14 | Jul 13 to Aug 28 |
| Spinach | — | Mar 3 to Apr 14 | Jul 30 to Sep 17 |
Lincoln sits in Zone 5b, but two gardens in the same city can be a week or two apart. The planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not the zone, so the dates land right for your block, not the metro average.
Build your Lincoln garden plan.
Tell the free planner what you want to eat and who you're feeding. It returns plant counts, spacing, and frost-safe sow dates for ZIP 68508 in about 60 seconds.