What Grows in Monroe Manor, New Jersey

USDA Zones 7a · 182 acres

Monroe Manor, New Jersey, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

Growers here do well with cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens — with the usual caveat that any single yard's soil, sun, and drainage cast the deciding vote.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Monroe Manor — the short answer

Monroe Manor, New Jersey: USDA zone 7a, about 220 days between hard freezes, across 182 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 31
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 6
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~220
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
182 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 Monroe Manor's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Monroe Manor's 220-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Monroe Manor

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

Season length

Measured

Monroe Manor runs about 220 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

Monroe Manor 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 Monroe Manor is in

Monroe Manor sits in the Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Monroe Manor's own centroid rather than borrowed from Middlesex County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Monroe Manor

Every plant below cleared Monroe Manor's own zone 7a and its 220-day season. Each card opens that plant's New Jersey profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New JerseyZones 2–11Monroe Manor's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
New Jersey hazelnut guideZones 4–9Monroe Manor's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in New JerseyZones 6–10Monroe Manor's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Monroe Manor's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in New JerseyZones 5–9Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
New Jersey lavender guideZones 5–8Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New JerseyZones 2–10Monroe Manor's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: New Jersey growing notesZones 5–9Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New JerseyMonroe Manor's 220 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New Jersey kale guideZones 2–11Monroe Manor's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in New JerseyZones 5–10Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Monroe Manor's 220 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in New JerseyZones 3–8Monroe Manor's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
New Jersey okra guideZones 2–12Monroe Manor's 220 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in New JerseyZones 2–11Monroe Manor's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–10Monroe Manor's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New JerseyZones 2–11Monroe Manor's 220 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
New Jersey apache plume guideZones 5–11Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New JerseyZones 3–8Monroe Manor's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–8Monroe Manor's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New JerseyMonroe Manor's 220 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
New Jersey holly guideZones 5–11Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in New JerseyZones 3–9Monroe Manor's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: New Jersey growing notesZones 6–8Monroe Manor's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in New JerseyZones 3–9Monroe Manor's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
New Jersey ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Monroe Manor's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New JerseyZones 2–7Monroe Manor's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: New Jersey growing notesZones 4–10Monroe Manor's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in New JerseyZones 5–10Monroe Manor's 220 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
New Jersey eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Monroe Manor's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Monroe Manor?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 3; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 31 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 6 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. There is slack in a calendar like this — late plantings, second rounds of favorites, and a fall bench that keeps beds working.

Documented around Monroe Manor

Spotted lanternfly documented 1 miles from Monroe Manor, first recorded 2019. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Monroe Manor

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

  1. RACEWAY MONROEUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  2. HIGHTS FARM EQUIPMENT COUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  3. 210009-- 9-1957Nitrate · 0.7 mi
  4. WAWA FOOD MARKETS #8330Underground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  5. WAWA FOOD MARKET #8330Brownfields · 0.7 mi
  6. 210789-- 6RNitrate · 0.7 mi
  7. 210012-- 6 Twin Rivers - SEALEDNitrate · 0.7 mi
  8. CVS PHARMACY #3161Brownfields · 1.0 mi
  9. 230774-- Dom 1Nitrate · 1.0 mi
  10. TRI STATE PETRO INC MONROEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  11. APPLEGARTH VOLUNTEER ENGINE CO 1Underground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  12. SPEEDWAY 3464Underground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi

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

Measured from Monroe Manor'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 Monroe Manor.

Total Sites

1,389

within ~10 miles of Monroe Manor

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

19 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Monroe Manor

High11Moderate569Low809

Highest-Severity Sites

Jis Landfill
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Monroe Township Landfill
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Monroe Twp Utility Department
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
South Brunswick Twp W Di
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Basf Wyandotte Corp
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Monroe Manor, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Monroe Manor — Nitrate (406 sites) and Superfund (19 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

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

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Monroe Manor

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 Monroe Manor average

Your land is one point inside Monroe Manor

Everything above resolves to Monroe Manor as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 182 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 Monroe Manor Average

Monroe Manor Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Monroe Manor
  • One soil character for all of Monroe Manor
  • Frost dates read at Monroe Manor's scale: Mar 31 to Nov 6

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Monroe Manor

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Monroe Manor averages 220Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Monroe Manor

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 Monroe Manor’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 Monroe Manor

When does frost risk typically end in Monroe Manor?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Monroe Manor typically lands around Mar 31, 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 21.

When is the first frost in Monroe Manor?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Monroe Manor typically arrives around Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 23, so the watching starts about Oct 7 — about 220 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Monroe Manor?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Monroe Manor sees about 220 frost-free days — roughly Mar 31 through Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 21 to Oct 23, about 185 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Monroe Manor?

The federal record around Monroe Manor runs heavier than most — 1,389 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (574), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.6 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 Monroe Manor?

From about Oct 7 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 6 (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 6. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Monroe Manor's scale — its 7a band and its 220-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Monroe Manor'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 Monroe Manor’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Monroe Manor's own scale — its own ~220-day season between 28°F freezes, the 182 acres it covers and 1,389 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Monroe Manor's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Monroe Manor's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 31 and Nov 6 and the ~220-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 1,389 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Monroe Manor, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.6 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Monroe Manor's boundary and the 182 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~220-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Monroe Manor's own centroid, the Atlantic Coastal Pine BarrensUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Monroe Manorlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Monroe Manor's 182 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Middlesex County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Middlesex 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 Middlesex County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Monroe Manor's 182 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Monroe Manor you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 182 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.6 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 Monroe Manor-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in New Jersey

Wider growing context

What grows across New Jersey

Monroe Manor sits outside our named growing regions, so New Jersey as a whole is its closest context here.