What Grows in Edgewater, New Jersey

USDA Zones 7b · 621 acres

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

Reliable performers under these conditions include cabbage, prickly pear, california poppy, and collard greens; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Edgewater, 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 Edgewater 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 Edgewater — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Edgewater — the short answer

Edgewater, New Jersey: USDA zone 7b, about 257 days between hard freezes, across 621 acres of town.

USDA zone
7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 20
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 2
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~257
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
621 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

7b7b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7b is Edgewater's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Edgewater's 257-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Edgewater

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

Season length

Measured

Edgewater runs about 257 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

Edgewater sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b.

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 Edgewater is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Edgewater

Every plant below cleared Edgewater's own zone 7b and its 257-day season. Each card opens that plant's New Jersey profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New JerseyZones 2–11Edgewater's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
New Jersey prickly pear guideZones 5–10Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in New JerseyZones 6–10Edgewater's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Edgewater's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Growing fig in New JerseyZones 6–10Edgewater's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
New Jersey lavender guideZones 5–8Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New JerseyZones 2–10Edgewater's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
grape, photograph
Grape: New Jersey growing notesZones 6–9Edgewater's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New JerseyEdgewater's 257 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New Jersey kale guideZones 2–11Edgewater's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut in New JerseyZones 4–9Edgewater's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Edgewater's 257 days clear the ~70 it needs.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in New JerseyZones 5–9Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
New Jersey okra guideZones 2–12Edgewater's 257 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in New JerseyZones 2–11Edgewater's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–10Edgewater's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New JerseyZones 2–11Edgewater's 257 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
New Jersey apache plume guideZones 5–11Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New JerseyZones 3–8Edgewater's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–8Edgewater's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New JerseyEdgewater's 257 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
New Jersey holly guideZones 5–11Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in New JerseyZones 3–9Edgewater's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: New Jersey growing notesZones 6–8Edgewater's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Growing douglas fir in New JerseyZones 4–10Edgewater's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
New Jersey ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Edgewater's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New JerseyZones 2–7Edgewater's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: New Jersey growing notesZones 5–11Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in New JerseyZones 5–10Edgewater's 257 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
New Jersey ajuga guideZones 5–11Edgewater's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Edgewater?

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 20; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 20 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 2 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.

Documented around Edgewater

Spotted lanternfly documented 2 miles from Edgewater, first recorded 2019. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Edgewater

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

  1. HI TECHUnderground Storage Tanks · 300 ft
  2. WILLIAM UBRICH TRUCKING CO INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  3. DI FEO BMWUnderground Storage Tanks · 800 ft
  4. TOWER AT MARINERS COVEUnderground Storage Tanks · 950 ft
  5. J FLETCHER CREAMER & SON INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  6. LUKOIL #57727 / A & D MARINEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1300 ft
  7. HUDSON PLAZAUnderground Storage Tanks · 1500 ft
  8. GRAND COVE MARINA (FORMER GULF SS ON SITE)Underground Storage Tanks · 1600 ft
  9. HARMON STORE #8058Brownfields · 2100 ft
  10. A P NEW JERSEY INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  11. HESS - EDGEWATER TERMINALBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  12. HESS - EDGEWATER TERMINALToxics Release Inventory · 0.5 mi

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

Measured from Edgewater'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 Edgewater.

Total Sites

16,577

within ~10 miles of Edgewater

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

126 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Edgewater

High29Moderate3,938Low12,610

Highest-Severity Sites

Curcio Scrap Metal, INC.
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Elmwood Park Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Garfield Ground Water Contamination
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Garfield Water Department
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Industrial Latex Corp.
Superfund · Superfund NPL

Know Before You Grow

  • Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
  • Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
  • TRI facilities report what they release. Check the wind — downwind beds catch more of it.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Edgewater

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 Edgewater average

Your land is one point inside Edgewater

Everything above resolves to Edgewater as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 621 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 Edgewater Average

Edgewater Average

  • USDA Zones 7b, averaged across Edgewater
  • One soil character for all of Edgewater
  • Frost dates read at Edgewater's scale: Mar 20 to Dec 2

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Edgewater

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Edgewater averages 257Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Edgewater

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 Edgewater’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 Edgewater

When does frost risk typically end in Edgewater?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Edgewater typically lands around Mar 20, 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 10.

When is the first frost in Edgewater?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Edgewater typically arrives around Dec 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 18, so the watching starts about Nov 2 — about 257 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Edgewater?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Edgewater sees about 257 frost-free days — roughly Mar 20 through Dec 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 10 to Nov 18, about 222 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Edgewater?

The federal record around Edgewater runs heavier than most — 16,577 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (9,504), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Edgewater?

From about Nov 2 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 Dec 2 (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 Dec 2. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Edgewater's scale — its 7b band and its 257-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Edgewater'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 Edgewater’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Edgewater's own scale — its own ~257-day season between 28°F freezes, the 621 acres it covers and 16,577 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Edgewater's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Edgewater's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 20 and Dec 2 and the ~257-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 16,577 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Edgewater, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Edgewater's boundary and the 621 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7b and a ~257-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Edgewater's own centroid, the Northern PiedmontUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Edgewaterlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Edgewater's 621 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Bergen County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Bergen 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 Bergen County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Edgewater's 621 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Edgewater you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 621 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Edgewater-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address