What Grows in Hartwick, New York

USDA Zones 5b · 2K acres

Hartwick, New York, sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

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

Score your parcel · free

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

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Hartwick — the short answer

Hartwick, New York: USDA zone 5b, about 168 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of town.

USDA zone
5b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
May 2
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 17
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~168
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
2K 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

5b5b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)
Your USDA zone 5bSee the zone map →

Zone 5b is Hartwick's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Hartwick's 168-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Hartwick

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

Season length

Measured

Hartwick runs about 168 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

Buying weeks at each end

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Hartwick sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b.

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.

How hardiness zones work

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Hartwick is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Hartwick

Every plant below cleared Hartwick's own zone 5b and its 168-day season. Each card opens that plant's New York profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New YorkZones 2–11Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
New York cranberry guideZones 2–7Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in New YorkZones 5–8Hartwick's 5b is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New York growing notesZones 2–11Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Growing hazelnut in New YorkZones 4–9Hartwick's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
New York st. johns wort guideZones 3–8Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New YorkZones 2–10Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry: New York growing notesZones 5–8Hartwick's 5b is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New YorkHartwick's 168 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New York kale guideZones 2–11Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in New YorkZones 5–9Hartwick's 5b is its exact cold limit.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: New York growing notesZones 2–11Hartwick's 168 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in New YorkZones 2–12Hartwick's 168 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
New York potato guideZones 2–11Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in New YorkZones 3–11Hartwick's 168 days clear the ~40 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New York growing notesZones 3–8Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New YorkZones 2–11Hartwick's 168 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
New York azalea guideZones 4–8Hartwick's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New YorkZones 3–8Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New York growing notesZones 3–10Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New YorkHartwick's 168 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
New York lilac guideZones 4–10Hartwick's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in New YorkZones 3–8Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Canada anemone, photograph
Canada anemone: New York growing notesZones 3–8Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in New YorkZones 3–9Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
New York alfalfa guideZones 2–10Hartwick's 168 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New YorkZones 2–7Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: New York growing notesZones 2–8Hartwick's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
annual ryegrass, photograph
Growing annual ryegrass in New YorkZones 3–10Hartwick's 168 days clear the ~90 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
New York canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Hartwick's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Hartwick?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Apr 4; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near May 2 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 17 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. The tail of the season still works: sixty-day crops into late summer, quick greens after, garlic last of all.

Documented around Hartwick

Spotted lanternfly documented 3 miles from Hartwick, first recorded 2022. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Hartwick

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

  1. HARTWICK FIRE DEPT.Underground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  2. TOWN OF HARTWICK BARNUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  3. C & O STORE____(CLOSED 8/85)Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  4. OG 308Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  5. HARTWICK QUICKWAYUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  6. PHILLIPS LUMBER CO., INC.Underground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  7. NYS ARC OTSEGO CHAPTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  8. OG 316Nitrate · 0.9 mi
  9. OTSEGO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVEUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi
  10. OTSEGO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INCBrownfields · 3.3 mi
  11. JERRY WOODCAFO · 4.0 mi
  12. OLD GAS STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.0 mi

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

Measured from Hartwick'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 Hartwick.

Total Sites

133

within ~10 miles of Hartwick

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

3 concentrated animal feeding operations

Explore the live map
Underground Storage Tanks109Brownfields15Nitrate6CAFO3

Sources Checked

within ~10 miles of Hartwick

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Hartwick

High0Moderate40Low93

Highest-Severity Sites

Apple Food Store
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Apple Mart
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bassett Hall
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bo-Dee Aviation
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bowen Bros
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Hartwick, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Hartwick — CAFO (3 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (109 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

grow under coverwork your in-ground beds wiselybuild up with a clean-soil raised bedread your soil before you plantSee what's flagged near Hartwick
Explore the contamination map around Hartwick·New York Growing Guide
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Check your specific parcel in Hartwick

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 Hartwick average

Your land is one point inside Hartwick

Everything above resolves to Hartwick as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 2K 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 Hartwick Average

Hartwick Average

  • ●USDA Zones 5b, averaged across Hartwick
  • ●One soil character for all of Hartwick
  • ●Frost dates read at Hartwick's scale: May 2 to Oct 17

YOUR Parcel

  • ✓Your exact zone, not Hartwick's 5b
  • ✓Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • ✓Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Hartwick

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Hartwick averages 168Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Hartwick

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 Hartwick’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 Hartwick

When does frost risk typically end in Hartwick?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Hartwick typically lands around May 2, 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 May 23.

When is the first frost in Hartwick?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Hartwick typically arrives around Oct 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 3, so the watching starts about Sep 17 — about 168 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Hartwick?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Hartwick sees about 168 frost-free days — roughly May 2 through Oct 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 23 to Oct 3, about 133 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Hartwick?

The federal record around Hartwick shows 133 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (109), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Hartwick?

From about Sep 17 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 Oct 17 (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 Oct 17. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Hartwick's scale — its 5b band and its 168-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Hartwick'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 Hartwick’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Hartwick's own scale — its own ~168-day season between 28°F freezes, the 2,212 acres it covers and 133 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Hartwick's own USDA hardiness band, zones 5bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Hartwick's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about May 2 and Oct 17 and the ~168-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 133 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Hartwick, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Hartwick's boundary and the 2,212 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 5b and a ~168-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Hartwick's own centroid, the Northern Allegheny PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Hartwicklydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Hartwick's 2,212 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Otsego County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Otsego County
  • The growing challenges every New York grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom New York
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Otsego County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Hartwick's 2,212 acreswhy one lot differs from the next →
  • Which side of Hartwick you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 2,212 acresreading your own microclimate →
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 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 Hartwick-wide figureread your own land →
The next step finer is your own address

More in New York

Otsego County Growing Guide·New York Growing Guide
USDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•US Census TIGER•PRISM Climate•EPA FRS