Best Soil for Gardening in Nevada

Nevada

Nevada has 46 USDA soil survey areas, and they vary considerably in how friendly the ground is for growing things. We ranked every survey area by the percentage of well-drained soil — the single most important soil property for most garden plants.

At the top, Desert National Wildlife Refuge Area, Nevada, South Part has 100% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Fallon-Fernley Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties comes in at 30%, meaning more of the landscape has drainage challenges that may require raised beds, soil amendments, or careful site selection for a productive garden.

Remember that these are area-wide averages. Even in a low-ranking survey area, individual properties can have excellent garden soil. Look up your specific address for exact conditions.

#	Survey Area	Well-Drained Soils	Dominant Drainage	Dominant Soil Order
1	Desert National Wildlife Refuge Area, Nevada, South Part	100%	Well drained	Aridisols
2	Humboldt National Forest, Nevada, South Part, Parts of Lincoln, Nye and White Pine Counties	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
3	Snake Range Area, Nevada, Part of White Pine County	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
4	Storey County Area, Nevada	99%	Well drained	Aridisols
5	Meadow Valley Area, Nevada, Part of Lincoln County	99%	Well drained	Mollisols
6	Lincoln County, Nevada, South Part	98%	Well drained	Aridisols
7	Sheldon Antelope Refuge Area, Nevada, Parts of Humboldt and Washoe Counties	98%	Well drained	Mollisols
8	Lincoln County, Nevada, North Part	98%	Well drained	Aridisols
9	Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada, Central Part, Parts of Eureka, Lander and Nye Counties	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
10	Humboldt National Forest Area, Nevada, North Part, Parts of Elko and White Pine Counties	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
11	Northwest Elko County Area, Nevada, Part of Elko and Eureka Counties	97%	Well drained	Mollisols
12	Great Basin National Park, Nevada	96%	Well drained	Mollisols
13	Elko County, Nevada, Northeast Part	94%	Well drained	Mollisols
14	White Pine County, Nevada, East Part	94%	Well drained	Aridisols
15	Western White Pine County Area, Nevada, Parts of White Pine and Eureka Counties	94%	Well drained	Aridisols
16	Washoe County, Nevada, North Part	93%	Well drained	Mollisols
17	Elko County, Nevada, Central Part	93%	Well drained	Mollisols
18	Nye County, Nevada, Northeast Part	92%	Well drained	Aridisols
19	Eureka County Area, Nevada	90%	Well drained	Aridisols
20	Elko County, Nevada, Southeast Part	89%	Well drained	Aridisols
21	Lander County, Nevada, North Part	89%	Well drained	Aridisols
22	Nye County, Nevada, Southwest Part	88%	Well drained	Aridisols
23	Nye County, Nevada, Northwest Part	88%	Well drained	Aridisols
24	Lander County, Nevada, South Part	88%	Well drained	Aridisols
25	Tuscarora Mountain Area, Nevada, Parts of Elko, Eureka and Lander Counties	87%	Well drained	Aridisols
26	Pershing County, Nevada, East Part	86%	Well drained	Aridisols
27	Las Vegas Valley Area, Nevada, Part of Clark County	84%	Well drained	Aridisols
28	Douglas County Area, Nevada	84%	Well drained	Mollisols
29	Clark County Area, Nevada	83%	Well drained	Aridisols
30	Humboldt County, Nevada, East Part	83%	Well drained	Aridisols
31	Pershing County, Nevada, West Part	83%	Well drained	Aridisols
32	Virgin River Area, Nevada and Arizona	82%	Well drained	Aridisols
33	Washoe County, Nevada, Central Part	81%	Well drained	Aridisols
34	Esmeralda County Area, Nevada	79%	Well drained	Aridisols
35	Pahranagat-Penoyer Area, Nevada, Parts of Lincoln and Nye Counties	79%	Well drained	Entisols
36	Mineral County Area, Nevada	78%	Well drained	Entisols
37	Lyon County Area, Nevada	78%	Well drained	Aridisols
38	Washoe County, Nevada, South Part	77%	Well drained	Mollisols
39	Humboldt County, Nevada, West Part	76%	Well drained	Mollisols
40	Diamond Valley Area, Nevada, Parts of Elko, Eureka and White Pine Counties	76%	Well drained	Aridisols
41	Churchill County Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill and Lyon Counties	76%	Well drained	Aridisols
42	Carson City Area, Nevada	68%	Well drained	Mollisols
43	Big Smoky Valley Area, Nevada, Part of Nye County	65%	Well drained	Aridisols
44	Hawthorne Ammunition Plant, Nevada, Part of Mineral County	60%	Well drained	Entisols
45	Lovelock Area, Nevada, Parts of Pershing and Churchill Counties	38%	Somewhat poorly drained	Entisols
46	Fallon-Fernley Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties	30%	Well drained	Entisols