What Grows in Ampere North, New Jersey

USDA Zones 7a · 178 acres

Ampere North, New Jersey, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

On paper, cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Ampere North, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Ampere North lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data around Ampere North — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Ampere North — the short answer

Ampere North, New Jersey: USDA zone 7a, about 237 days between hard freezes, across 178 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 26
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 18
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~237
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
178 acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

7a7a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7a is Ampere North's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Ampere North's 237-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Ampere North

Each reading below is measured for Ampere North itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

Measured

Ampere North runs about 237 days between hard freezes — a long growing season.

There is slack for succession plantings and slow-finishing crops: many vegetables can be sown twice, and the heat-lovers have time to ripen fully.

Plan a second sowing of quick crops after the first comes out, and use the fall window most gardeners let sit idle.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Ampere North sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Ampere North is in

Ampere North sits in the Northern Piedmont — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Ampere North's own centroid rather than borrowed from Essex County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Ampere North

Every plant below cleared Ampere North's own zone 7a and its 237-day season. Each card opens that plant's New Jersey profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New JerseyZones 2–11Ampere North's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
New Jersey hazelnut guideZones 4–9Ampere North's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in New JerseyZones 6–10Ampere North's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Ampere North's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in New JerseyZones 5–9Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
New Jersey lavender guideZones 5–8Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New JerseyZones 2–10Ampere North's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: New Jersey growing notesZones 5–9Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New JerseyAmpere North's 237 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New Jersey kale guideZones 2–11Ampere North's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in New JerseyZones 5–10Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Ampere North's 237 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in New JerseyZones 3–8Ampere North's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
New Jersey okra guideZones 2–12Ampere North's 237 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in New JerseyZones 2–11Ampere North's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–10Ampere North's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New JerseyZones 2–11Ampere North's 237 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
New Jersey apache plume guideZones 5–11Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New JerseyZones 3–8Ampere North's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–8Ampere North's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New JerseyAmpere North's 237 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
New Jersey holly guideZones 5–11Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in New JerseyZones 3–9Ampere North's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: New Jersey growing notesZones 6–8Ampere North's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in New JerseyZones 3–9Ampere North's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
New Jersey ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Ampere North's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New JerseyZones 2–7Ampere North's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: New Jersey growing notesZones 4–10Ampere North's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in New JerseyZones 5–10Ampere North's 237 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
New Jersey eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Ampere North's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Ampere North?

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 26; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 26 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 18 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. A long window like this one runs successions deep into fall — and even its last weeks take quick greens and garlic.

Documented around Ampere North

Spotted lanternfly documented 3 miles from Ampere North, first recorded 2020. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Ampere North

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Ampere North. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. GENERAL PLASTICS INCBrownfields · 1000 ft
  2. GENERAL PLASTICS INCToxics Release Inventory · 1000 ft
  3. GENTAPE COBrownfields · 1000 ft
  4. CONTINENTAL CONNECTOR COBrownfields · 1000 ft
  5. PARKWAY TOWING INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1200 ft
  6. PARKWAY TOWINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 1200 ft
  7. RITE AID # 3426Brownfields · 1200 ft
  8. SUNOCO 0006-9021Underground Storage Tanks · 1200 ft
  9. STRAUSS DISCOUNT AUTOUnderground Storage Tanks · 1200 ft
  10. EXCLUSIVE AUTO BODYBrownfields · 1300 ft
  11. RITE AIDUnderground Storage Tanks · 1300 ft
  12. SYED FAMILY LLCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1300 ft

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Ampere North's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Ampere North.

Total Sites

9,153

within ~10 miles of Ampere North

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

220 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Ampere North

High54Moderate2,043Low7,056

Highest-Severity Sites

Caldwell Trucking CO.
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Caldwell Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Cedar Grove Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
1 Hour Martinizing Cleaners
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
212-214 North Livingston Avenue
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Ampere North, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Ampere North — Superfund (220 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (656 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).

Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Ampere North

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Ampere North average

Your land is one point inside Ampere North

Everything above resolves to Ampere North as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 178 acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at town scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Ampere North Average

Ampere North Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Ampere North
  • One soil character for all of Ampere North
  • Frost dates read at Ampere North's scale: Mar 26 to Nov 18

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Ampere North's 7a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Ampere North

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Ampere North, New Jersey — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Ampere North averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Ampere North averages 237Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Ampere North — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Ampere North average

How we know this about Ampere North

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Ampere North’s own record; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Ampere North

When does frost risk typically end in Ampere North?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Ampere North typically lands around Mar 26, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about Apr 16.

When is the first frost in Ampere North?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Ampere North typically arrives around Nov 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 4, so the watching starts about Oct 19 — about 237 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Ampere North?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Ampere North sees about 237 frost-free days — roughly Mar 26 through Nov 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 16 to Nov 4, about 202 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Ampere North?

The federal record around Ampere North runs heavier than most — 9,153 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (5,804), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.2 miles out — 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.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Ampere North?

From about Oct 19 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Nov 18 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Nov 18. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Ampere North's scale — its 7a band and its 237-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Ampere North's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Ampere North’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Ampere North's own scale — its own ~237-day season between 28°F freezes, the 178 acres it covers and 9,153 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Ampere North's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Ampere North's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 26 and Nov 18 and the ~237-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 9,153 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Ampere North, the closest Brownfields record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Ampere North's boundary and the 178 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~237-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Ampere North's own centroid, the Northern PiedmontUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Ampere Northlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Ampere North's 178 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Essex County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Essex County
  • The growing challenges every New Jersey grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom New Jersey
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Essex County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Ampere North's 178 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Ampere North you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 178 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields record about 0.2 miles out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Ampere North-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address