Growing Tomatoes in New York: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
A plain-language guide to New York tomato planting dates, disease-resistant varieties, companion planting and the pests and problems gardeners run into most often.
Gardening in New York
Everything we have worked out for New York: 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 New York City, the last spring freeze runs March 23 to April 3 and the first fall freeze runs November 14 to November 27, USDA zones 3b-7b, 3,786 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 17.4 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in New York: 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.