What Grows in Ramapo College of New Jersey, New Jersey

USDA Zones 7a · 307 acres

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

A short list that earns its place here — cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Ramapo College of New Jersey, 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Ramapo College of New Jersey — the short answer

Ramapo College of New Jersey, New Jersey: USDA zone 7a, about 216 days between hard freezes, across 307 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 3
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 5
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~216
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
307 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Ramapo College of New Jersey's 216-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Ramapo College of New Jersey

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

Season length

Measured

Ramapo College of New Jersey runs about 216 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

Ramapo College of New Jersey 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Ramapo College of New Jersey

Every plant below cleared Ramapo College of New Jersey's own zone 7a and its 216-day season. Each card opens that plant's New Jersey profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New JerseyZones 2–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
New Jersey hazelnut guideZones 4–9Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in New JerseyZones 6–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in New JerseyZones 5–9Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
New Jersey lavender guideZones 5–8Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New JerseyZones 2–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: New Jersey growing notesZones 5–9Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New JerseyRamapo College of New Jersey's 216 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New Jersey kale guideZones 2–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in New JerseyZones 5–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: New Jersey growing notesZones 2–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 216 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in New JerseyZones 3–8Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
New Jersey okra guideZones 2–12Ramapo College of New Jersey's 216 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in New JerseyZones 2–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New JerseyZones 2–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 216 days clear the ~70 it needs.
holly, photograph
New Jersey holly guideZones 5–11Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New JerseyZones 3–8Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New Jersey growing notesZones 3–8Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New JerseyRamapo College of New Jersey's 216 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
New Jersey lilac guideZones 4–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in New JerseyZones 3–9Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: New Jersey growing notesZones 6–8Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in New JerseyZones 3–9Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
New Jersey ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New JerseyZones 2–7Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: New Jersey growing notesZones 4–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in New JerseyZones 5–10Ramapo College of New Jersey's 216 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
New Jersey eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Ramapo College of New Jersey?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 6; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 3 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 5 — 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey

Spotted lanternfly documented 3 miles from Ramapo College of New Jersey, first recorded 2021. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Ramapo College of New Jersey

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Ramapo College of New Jersey. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. RAMAPO COLLEGE - LEARNING COMMONS IMPRV.Brownfields · 400 ft
  2. RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1300 ft
  3. 030068-- DomNitrate · 1400 ft
  4. 030066-- DomNitrate · 2500 ft
  5. MAHWAH WATER DEPARTMENTPFAS · 2500 ft
  6. 030120-- WD 17Nitrate · 2600 ft
  7. MINDRAY DS USA BUILDING ADDITION PROJECTBrownfields · 0.6 mi
  8. MAHWAH HIGH SCHOOLUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  9. MAHWAH SCHOOL DISTRICT MAINTANENCE GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  10. 030023-- PW 16Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  11. JAGUAR CARSBrownfields · 0.6 mi
  12. DARLINGTON COUNTY PARKUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi

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

Measured from Ramapo College of New Jersey'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 Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Total Sites

1,885

within ~10 miles of Ramapo College of New Jersey

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

48 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Ramapo College of New Jersey

High23Moderate627Low1,235

Highest-Severity Sites

Allendale Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Ho Ho Kus Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mahwah Water Department
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Park Ridge Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Ramsey Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Ramapo College of New Jersey, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Ramapo College of New Jersey — Superfund (48 sites) and PFAS (19 sites). 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.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

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

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Ramapo College of New Jersey

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 Ramapo College of New Jersey average

Your land is one point inside Ramapo College of New Jersey

Everything above resolves to Ramapo College of New Jersey as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 307 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey Average

Ramapo College of New Jersey Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Ramapo College of New Jersey
  • One soil character for all of Ramapo College of New Jersey
  • Frost dates read at Ramapo College of New Jersey's scale: Apr 3 to Nov 5

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Ramapo College of New Jersey's 7a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Ramapo College of New Jersey

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

Three things about your lot that Ramapo College of New Jersey averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Ramapo College of New Jersey averages 216Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Ramapo College of New Jersey — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Ramapo College of New Jersey average

How we know this about Ramapo College of New Jersey

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 Ramapo College of New Jersey’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 Ramapo College of New Jersey

When does frost risk typically end in Ramapo College of New Jersey?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Ramapo College of New Jersey typically lands around Apr 3, 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 24.

When is the first frost in Ramapo College of New Jersey?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Ramapo College of New Jersey typically arrives around Nov 5, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 22, so the watching starts about Oct 6 — about 216 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Ramapo College of New Jersey?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Ramapo College of New Jersey sees about 216 frost-free days — roughly Apr 3 through Nov 5, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 24 to Oct 22, about 181 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Ramapo College of New Jersey?

The federal record around Ramapo College of New Jersey runs heavier than most — 1,885 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (1,034), the nearest Brownfields 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey?

From about Oct 6 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 5 (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 5. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Ramapo College of New Jersey's scale — its 7a band and its 216-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Ramapo College of New Jersey'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 Ramapo College of New Jersey’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Ramapo College of New Jersey's own scale — its own ~216-day season between 28°F freezes, the 307 acres it covers and 1,885 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Ramapo College of New Jersey's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Ramapo College of New Jersey's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 3 and Nov 5 and the ~216-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 1,885 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Ramapo College of New Jersey, the closest Brownfields record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Ramapo College of New Jersey's boundary and the 307 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~216-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Ramapo College of New Jersey's own centroid, the Northern PiedmontUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Ramapo College of New Jerseylydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Ramapo College of New Jersey's 307 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey's 307 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Ramapo College of New Jersey you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 307 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields 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 Ramapo College of New Jersey-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address