When to Harvest Garlic in New Jersey, and How to Cure It
In New Jersey, garlic goes into the ground in fall and comes out of it the following summer, usually when the lower third of the leaves has turned brown…
Gardening in New Jersey
Everything we have worked out for New Jersey: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Newark, the last spring freeze runs March 29 to April 6 and the first fall freeze runs November 4 to November 16, USDA zones 6a-7b, 3,881 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 21.8 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in New Jersey: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
When to Pick Apples in New Jersey, and How Long They Keep
Apples in New Jersey are ready to pick anywhere from early August to late October, and the calendar tells you almost nothing on its own.
Does Insulation Keep a Home in New Jersey Cool?
Yes, insulation keeps a New Jersey home cooler, and it matters for a real chunk of the year: the reference station in Newark logs an average of 20.8 days…
Does a Wall in New Jersey Need a Vapor Barrier?
Short answer: in New Jersey, yes. The state’s 21 counties split between IECC climate zones 4A (14 counties) and 5A (7 counties), and neither zone falls…
Heating With Pellets in New Jersey: What a Winter Takes
New Jersey burns through roughly 4,701 heating degree days a year at the Newark reference station, and that number does the real work of answering how…
Spotted asparagus beetle in New Jersey: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Spotted asparagus beetle season in New Jersey generally tracks the emergence of asparagus spears in early spring, then continues through a second…
Common asparagus beetle in New Jersey: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Adult common asparagus beetles wake up in the crowns and debris of last year’s asparagus bed and move onto the first spears within days of them breaking…
Trees, Shrubs and Perennials for New Jersey: What Will Not Survive
New Jersey’s USDA hardiness range runs from 6a to 7b, a spread wide enough to separate a Sussex County hillside from a Cape May backyard by more than one…
How Much Insulation Does a Home in New Jersey Need?
New Jersey doesn’t have one answer to this question. The state splits across two IECC climate zones, 14 counties in zone 4A and 7 in zone 5A, and each…
When Can You Turn the Heat Off in New Jersey?
September is the closest New Jersey gets to a break, but “closest” isn’t the same as “off.” The state’s quietest month still totals about 193 combined…