What to Plant in New Jersey in May
May is the month most New Jersey gardens finally shake off frost risk for good, and the list of what can go in the ground jumps overnight from lettuce…
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.
What to Plant in New Jersey in March
In most of New Jersey, March still sits ahead of the last spring frost, which the National Climate Normals put at March 29 to April 6 for the reference…
What to Plant in New Jersey in June
June in New Jersey is prime planting territory. The state’s last spring frost window (March 29 to April 6, per NOAA climate data) has already closed for…
What to Plant in New Jersey in July
July in New Jersey means warm soil and a garden already in full swing. With the last spring frost long past (typically March 29 to April 6 near Newark)…
What to Plant in New Jersey in January
Short answer: almost nothing goes into open ground in a New Jersey garden in January.
What to Plant in New Jersey in February
February in New Jersey sits well ahead of the state’s last frost window, which runs March 29 to April 6 at the reference weather station used for NOAA’s…
What to Plant in New Jersey in December
Answer: in December, New Jersey’s ground is closed for new outdoor seeding across nearly the entire state.
What to Plant in New Jersey in August
August in New Jersey is a fall-planting month, not a lull between summer harvests.
What to Plant in New Jersey in April
Mid-March through late April is when New Jersey gardens wake up for real. The reference frost window for the state runs March 29 to April 6, so by April…
Growing Peppers in New Jersey: Fruit Set, Heat and Timing
New Jersey peppers face trouble at both ends of the thermometer. On the hot side, the reference station in Newark logs 20.8 days a year at 90°F or above…