One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Reno you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant watercress by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since watercress are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Reno is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Reno. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Reno and it is different every year. Half of the time in Reno it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your watercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Reno

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Reno

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Reno.