When to plant in Sewaren, NJ

Planting dates worked out from Sewaren's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

May 2

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 18

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 23

1 year in 10 by Oct 7

Frost-free days

191

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Plainfield · 13.4 km away · station 27 m, town 6 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Sewaren plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 2 – May 16	Jun 26
Sweet pepper	Feb 21 – Mar 7	May 2 – May 16	Jul 1
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 14 – Feb 21	Mar 21 – Apr 4	Apr 30
Peas	—	Mar 18 – Apr 15	May 12
Bush beans	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jun 14
Carrot	—	Mar 29 – May 10	May 28
Beet	—	Mar 29 – May 10	May 18
Potato	—	Mar 29 – Apr 19	Jun 7
Kale	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 7
Broccoli	Feb 7 – Feb 21	Mar 21 – Apr 11	May 20
Cucumber	Apr 4 – Apr 11	May 2 – May 16	Jun 21
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 4 – Apr 11	May 2 – May 16	Jun 16
Winter squash	Apr 4 – Apr 11	May 2 – May 16	Jul 21
Sweet corn	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jun 24
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 21 – Apr 11	Jun 19
Garlic	—	Oct 9 – Nov 6 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 18 – Apr 15	Apr 25
Basil	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 2 – May 16	Jun 28

Plan all 65 crops for Sewaren

Sewaren's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1893	Apr 7
1894	Apr 15
1895	May 17
1896	Apr 11
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 9
1899	Apr 11
1900	May 10
1901	Apr 2
1902	Apr 18
1903	May 2
1904	Apr 23
1905	May 2
1906	May 11
1907	May 12
1908	Apr 21
1909	Apr 29
1910	Apr 14
1911	May 4
1912	Apr 11
1913	Apr 21
1914	Apr 24
1915	Apr 3
1916	Apr 11
1917	May 4
1919	Apr 26
1920	May 6
1921	Apr 12
1922	May 1
1923	May 11
1924	May 5
1925	May 9
1926	Apr 27
1927	Apr 26
1928	Apr 22
1929	Apr 24
1930	Apr 27
1931	May 1
1932	Apr 24
1933	Apr 28
1934	Apr 30
1935	Apr 17
1936	Apr 25
1937	Apr 13
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 14
1940	Apr 15
1941	Apr 7
1942	Apr 14
1943	May 2
1944	Apr 14
1945	Apr 23
1946	Apr 18
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 23
1949	Apr 29
1950	Apr 22
1951	Mar 27
1952	Apr 12
1953	Apr 22
1954	Apr 13
1955	Apr 9
1956	May 9
1957	May 4
1958	Apr 10
1959	Apr 24
1960	Apr 20
1961	Apr 20
1962	Apr 18
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 5
1965	Apr 25
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 26
1968	Apr 7
1969	Apr 13
1970	May 7
1971	Apr 18
1972	Apr 28
1973	Apr 15
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 22
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 10
1978	May 1
1979	Apr 11
1980	Apr 18
1981	Apr 22
1982	Apr 23
1983	May 10
1984	Apr 9
1985	Apr 12
1986	Apr 23
1987	Apr 2
1988	Apr 19
1989	Apr 24
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 6
1992	Apr 14
1993	Apr 8
1994	Apr 23
1995	Apr 8
1996	May 14
1997	May 8
1998	Apr 12
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 14
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 26
2003	Apr 10
2004	Apr 16
2005	Apr 17
2011	Apr 5

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	192
1894	183
1895	144
1896	180
1897	166
1898	190
1899	173
1900	159
1901	187
1902	174
1903	175
1904	151
1905	172
1906	154
1907	156
1908	174
1909	166
1910	181
1911	177
1912	188
1913	183
1914	186
1915	190
1916	182
1919	196
1920	176
1921	179
1922	147
1923	146
1924	160
1925	144
1926	165
1927	182
1928	187
1929	167
1930	174
1931	171
1932	172
1933	169
1934	166
1935	170
1936	182
1937	178
1938	203
1939	184
1940	186
1941	201
1942	196
1943	156
1944	184
1945	163
1946	208
1947	139
1948	175
1949	181
1950	187
1951	200
1952	190
1953	168
1954	177
1955	199
1956	154
1957	145
1958	178
1959	177
1960	183
1961	167
1962	189
1963	163
1964	183
1965	163
1966	168
1967	178
1968	181
1969	192
1970	163
1971	200
1972	164
1973	206
1974	147
1975	191
1976	188
1977	196
1978	160
1979	182
1980	187
1981	173
1982	177
1983	164
1984	207
1985	199
1986	178
1987	189
1988	172
1989	156
1990	183
1991	190
1992	188
1993	185
1994	187
1995	210
1996	142
1997	146
1998	193
1999	193
2000	214
2001	172
2002	180
2003	196
2004	206
2005	192
2011	206

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	18.3 °C
1894	19.2 °C
1895	19.3 °C
1896	19.4 °C
1897	17.9 °C
1898	18.4 °C
1899	18.4 °C
1900	19.5 °C
1901	18.6 °C
1902	17.8 °C
1903	17.7 °C
1904	17.8 °C
1905	18.3 °C
1906	19.1 °C
1907	16.9 °C
1908	18.6 °C
1909	17.9 °C
1910	18.7 °C
1911	18.9 °C
1912	18.3 °C
1913	18.7 °C
1914	18.2 °C
1915	18.3 °C
1916	18.0 °C
1917	17.6 °C
1919	17.9 °C
1920	17.3 °C
1921	18.9 °C
1922	18.3 °C
1923	18.2 °C
1924	16.8 °C
1925	18.0 °C
1926	16.9 °C
1927	16.8 °C
1928	17.7 °C
1929	18.1 °C
1930	18.8 °C
1931	19.1 °C
1932	18.5 °C
1933	18.9 °C
1934	19.1 °C
1935	18.5 °C
1936	19.0 °C
1937	19.2 °C
1938	19.1 °C
1939	19.2 °C
1940	17.8 °C
1941	19.9 °C
1942	19.3 °C
1943	19.1 °C
1944	19.7 °C
1945	18.9 °C
1946	18.3 °C
1947	18.6 °C
1948	18.5 °C
1949	19.6 °C
1950	17.6 °C
1951	18.8 °C
1952	19.3 °C
1953	19.2 °C
1954	18.6 °C
1955	19.9 °C
1956	17.8 °C
1957	19.3 °C
1958	18.4 °C
1959	20.2 °C
1960	19.1 °C
1961	19.1 °C
1962	18.5 °C
1963	18.3 °C
1964	18.9 °C
1965	19.0 °C
1966	18.6 °C
1967	18.1 °C
1968	19.2 °C
1969	19.5 °C
1970	19.5 °C
1971	18.8 °C
1972	18.5 °C
1973	19.5 °C
1974	19.1 °C
1975	18.9 °C
1976	19.3 °C
1977	19.5 °C
1978	18.7 °C
1979	18.8 °C
1981	19.5 °C
1982	18.6 °C
1983	19.6 °C
1984	18.9 °C
1985	19.6 °C
1986	19.3 °C
1987	19.5 °C
1988	19.4 °C
1989	18.4 °C
1990	18.3 °C
1991	19.9 °C
1992	18.1 °C
1993	19.5 °C
1994	19.8 °C
1995	19.4 °C
1996	18.4 °C
1997	18.4 °C
1998	19.7 °C
1999	20.4 °C
2000	19.2 °C
2001	20.0 °C
2002	20.6 °C
2003	19.2 °C
2004	20.2 °C
2005	20.8 °C
2011	20.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Sewaren's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Plainfield (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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