New Jersey spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-7b, with a growing season of about 190 frost-free days — a season that fits spring and fall plantings of cool-weather crops around a solid warm-season core.
The climate hand here is 40-50 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,500 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,200 winter chill hours for tree fruit — the numbers that decide what ripens comfortably and what runs out of runway. Underfoot it's mostly sandy loam (Pine Barrens), silt loam, clay, and coastal sand — and how those drain decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Growing in New Jersey really means growing in one of its distinct regions — Appalachia and Pine Barrens — each with its own zone band and frost rhythm. On paper, tomato, blueberry, peach, and sweet corn all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
New Jersey spans zones 6a-7b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within New Jersey — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
6a-7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 1 - May 1
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 5 - Nov 5
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
40-50 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across New Jersey. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate New Jersey — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Fast. The sand fraction opens the soil up, so water moves through the root zone quickly and the surface rarely stays soggy. The trade is that nutrients ride out with the water.
What thrives
Root crops love it — carrots, potatoes, radishes, and onions size up cleanly in ground they can push through. Melons, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and most herbs appreciate the warmth and the drainage.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
Drainage
Slow. Water enters clay reluctantly and leaves it the same way, so wet springs keep it cold and unworkable longer than lighter soils.
What thrives
Once established, heavy feeders prosper — brassicas, beans, corn, and many fruit trees ride clay’s nutrient supply and summer moisture reserve. Daylilies, roses, and prairie perennials handle it without complaint.
Drainage
Extremely fast. Rain and irrigation vanish through it almost as fast as they land.
What thrives
Salt-tough plants earn their keep here: beach plum, bayberry, seaside goldenrod, rugosa roses, and hardy herbs like rosemary. Vegetables produce well in amended beds sheltered from the wind.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to New Jersey's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Across New Jersey, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 18, with the middle half of counties between Mar 14 and Mar 23 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 27 and Dec 6 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the calendar nearly circles: cool-season crops take the winter shift, and the next window is always close.
The plants New Jersey put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Violet
Viola sororia
Designated 1971.
Quercus rubra
Designated 1950. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Northern highbush blueberry
Designated 2004.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in New Jersey — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps New Jersey’s USDA zones 6a-7b but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Sandy Pine Barrens soils are nutrient-poor
Compost and cover crops build the Barrens' sand into real soil — organic matter, added every year, is the whole fix.
Urban heat island effects in northern NJ
The city's extra warmth stretches the season for heat-lovers — find your true effective zone and use the head start.
Deer browse is extreme in suburban areas
Fencing holds the line; outside it, aromatic and fuzzy-leaved plants are the ones deer tend to leave alone.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to New Jersey, the Rutgers Cooperative Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across New Jersey — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across New Jersey — 41,663 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 877 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
New Jersey carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across New Jersey
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around New Jersey, Superfund runs higher than the national average — 877 sites nearby. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
New Jersey spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-7b, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Across New Jersey, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 18, with the middle half of counties between Mar 14 and Mar 23 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 27 and Dec 6 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the calendar nearly circles: cool-season crops take the winter shift, and the next window is always close.
Across New Jersey, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Mar 14 and Mar 23, with a county median near Mar 18 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — light frosts can still bite for a few more weeks, so tender transplants usually wait another 2–3 weeks.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across New Jersey's counties mostly run about 249 to 267 days, with a county median near 261 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
New Jersey's zones 6a-7b support a wide range — strong performers include Tomato, Blueberry, Peach, Sweet Corn, and Cranberry. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, New Jersey spans USDA zones 6a-7b (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,112 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across New Jersey runs heavier than most — 41,663 documented sites — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.
Start with three facts. New Jersey spans USDA zones 6a-7b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Mar 14 to Mar 23 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 41,663 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a New Jersey average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in New Jersey.
