What Grows in Mohnton, Pennsylvania

USDA Zones 7a · 489 acres

Mohnton, Pennsylvania, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

The conditions favor cabbage, hazelnut, 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 Mohnton, 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 Mohnton 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 Mohnton — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Mohnton — the short answer

Mohnton, Pennsylvania: USDA zone 7a, about 216 days between hard freezes, across 489 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 4
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
~216
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
489 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 Mohnton's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Mohnton's 216-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Mohnton

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

Season length

Measured

Mohnton 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

Mohnton 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 Mohnton is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Mohnton

Every plant below cleared Mohnton's own zone 7a and its 216-day season. Each card opens that plant's Pennsylvania profile. How we score.

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

Is it too late to plant in Mohnton?

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 7; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 4 (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 Mohnton

Spotted lanternfly documented 1 miles from Mohnton, first recorded 2017. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Mohnton

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

  1. UNIQUE TECH INCBrownfields · 450 ft
  2. SURGICAL SPECIALTIES CORPUnderground Storage Tanks · 450 ft
  3. MOHNTON BORO GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 500 ft
  4. CE LEVAN & SON EXCAVATINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  5. GOODS GREENHOUSESUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  6. DIEBOLT LANDSCAPE COUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  7. FLOYD GEBHART FLOOR COVERINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  8. HERBS GREENHOUSEUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  9. A HOFFMANS USED AUTO PARTSUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  10. BRECKNOCK TWP BERKS CNTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  11. PRECISION GRAPHICS INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  12. ED GOTTSCHALLS AUTO SVCUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft

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

Measured from Mohnton'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 Mohnton.

Total Sites

1,521

within ~10 miles of Mohnton

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

10 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Mohnton

High18Moderate452Low1,051

Highest-Severity Sites

Aqua Pa Flying Hills Wa Sys
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Berks Landfill
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Caernarvon Twp Auth
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Exide Technologies Site
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Gickerville Trap Quarry
Mining Sites · Past Producer

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Mohnton, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Mohnton — PFAS (14 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (98 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

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

Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Mohnton

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 Mohnton average

Your land is one point inside Mohnton

Everything above resolves to Mohnton as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 489 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 Mohnton Average

Mohnton Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Mohnton
  • One soil character for all of Mohnton
  • Frost dates read at Mohnton's scale: Apr 4 to Nov 6

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Mohnton

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Mohnton averages 216Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Mohnton

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 Mohnton’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 Mohnton

When does frost risk typically end in Mohnton?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Mohnton typically lands around Apr 4, 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 25.

When is the first frost in Mohnton?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Mohnton 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 216 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Mohnton?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Mohnton sees about 216 frost-free days — roughly Apr 4 through Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 25 to Oct 23, about 181 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Mohnton?

The federal record around Mohnton runs heavier than most — 1,521 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (837), 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 Mohnton?

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 Mohnton's scale — its 7a band and its 216-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Mohnton'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 Mohnton’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Mohnton's own scale — its own ~216-day season between 28°F freezes, the 489 acres it covers and 1,521 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Mohnton's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Mohnton's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 4 and Nov 6 and the ~216-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 1,521 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Mohnton, the closest Brownfields record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Mohnton's boundary and the 489 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~216-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Mohnton sits in the Northern Piedmont — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Mohntonlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Mohnton's 489 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Berks County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Berks County
  • The growing challenges every Pennsylvania grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Pennsylvania
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Berks County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Mohnton's 489 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Mohnton you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 489 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 Mohnton-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address