What Grows in Hurley, New York

USDA Zones 6b · 4K acres

Hurley, New York, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

The conditions favor cabbage, blackberry, california poppy, and collard greens, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Hurley — the short answer

Hurley, New York: USDA zone 6b, about 193 days between hard freezes, across 4K acres of town.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 15
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 25
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~193
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
4K 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

6b6b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6b is Hurley's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Hurley's 193-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Hurley

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

Season length

Measured

Hurley runs about 193 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.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Hurley sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b.

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 Hurley is in

Hurley sits in the Ridge and Valley — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Hurley's own centroid, and it is not what its county reads: Ulster County is mostly Northeastern Highlands. The wider page above you is answering a different question about different ground.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Hurley

Every plant below cleared Hurley's own zone 6b and its 193-day season. Each card opens that plant's New York profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New YorkZones 2–11Hurley's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
New York blackberry guideZones 5–8Hurley's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in New YorkZones 6–10Hurley's 6b is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New York growing notesZones 2–11Hurley's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in New YorkZones 5–9Hurley's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
New York lavender guideZones 5–8Hurley's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New YorkZones 2–10Hurley's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: New York growing notesZones 5–9Hurley's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New YorkHurley's 193 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New York kale guideZones 2–11Hurley's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in New YorkZones 5–10Hurley's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: New York growing notesZones 4–9Hurley's 193 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in New YorkZones 2–11Hurley's 193 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
New York okra guideZones 2–12Hurley's 193 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in New YorkZones 2–11Hurley's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New York growing notesZones 3–10Hurley's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New YorkZones 2–11Hurley's 193 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
New York lilac guideZones 4–10Hurley's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New YorkZones 3–8Hurley's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New York growing notesZones 3–8Hurley's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New YorkHurley's 193 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Oregon grape, photograph
New York oregon grape guideZones 5–8Hurley's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in New YorkZones 3–9Hurley's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: New York growing notesZones 6–8Hurley's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in New YorkZones 3–9Hurley's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
New York ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Hurley's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New YorkZones 2–7Hurley's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: New York growing notesZones 4–10Hurley's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in New YorkZones 2–10Hurley's 193 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
New York indian grass guideZones 4–9Hurley's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Hurley?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 18; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 15 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 25 — 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 Hurley

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

What's on the federal record near Hurley

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

  1. ST JOSEPHS CHURCHUnderground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  2. SHIVAM CORP.Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  3. ERNEST C. MEYERUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  4. STEWART'S SHOPS #165Underground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  5. NEW YORK STATE POLICE-HURLEYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.2 mi
  6. GILBERT HOPPENSTEDT RESIDENCEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.2 mi
  7. SPRING LAKE LOTUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.5 mi
  8. CONVENIENT FOOD MART OF KINGSTONUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.7 mi
  9. ROBO'S DELIUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.8 mi
  10. EMPIRE MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.8 mi
  11. YOUR SERVICENTER INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.8 mi
  12. STEWART'S SHOP #328Underground Storage Tanks · 1.8 mi

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

Measured from Hurley'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 Hurley.

Total Sites

555

within ~10 miles of Hurley

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

5 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Hurley

High3Moderate187Low365

Highest-Severity Sites

Kingston (City) Water District
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Kingsvale Water CO
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mohonk Road Industrial Plant
Superfund · Superfund NPL
162 Route 9W LLC
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Adirondack Transit Lines, INC.
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Hurley, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 356 sites within ~10 miles of Hurley. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Hurley

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 Hurley average

Your land is one point inside Hurley

Everything above resolves to Hurley as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 4K 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 Hurley Average

Hurley Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Hurley
  • One soil character for all of Hurley
  • Frost dates read at Hurley's scale: Apr 15 to Oct 25

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Hurley's 6b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Hurley

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Hurley averages 193Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Hurley

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 Hurley’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 Hurley

When does frost risk typically end in Hurley?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Hurley typically lands around Apr 15, 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 6.

When is the first frost in Hurley?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Hurley typically arrives around Oct 25, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 11, so the watching starts about Sep 25 — about 193 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Hurley?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Hurley sees about 193 frost-free days — roughly Apr 15 through Oct 25, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 6 to Oct 11, about 158 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Hurley?

The federal record around Hurley is a meaningful one — 555 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (356), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.5 miles out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Hurley?

From about Sep 25 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 25 (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 25. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Hurley's scale — its 6b band and its 193-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Hurley'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 Hurley’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Hurley's own scale — its own ~193-day season between 28°F freezes, the 3,512 acres it covers and 555 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Hurley's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Hurley's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 15 and Oct 25 and the ~193-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 555 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Hurley, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.5 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Hurley's boundary and the 3,512 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~193-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Hurley sits in the Ridge and Valley — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Hurleylydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Hurley's 3,512 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Ulster County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Ulster 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 Ulster County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Hurley's 3,512 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Hurley you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 3,512 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.5 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 Hurley-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address