Newark, NJ · zone 7a · ~216 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Newark.
In Newark, the typical last spring frost lands around Apr 4 and the first fall frost around Nov 6, giving you about 216 frost-free days. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost; warm-season crops wait until after it.
The 2026 windows
Sow dates for Newark, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Feb 28 to Apr 30 | Apr 11 to Jun 11 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Feb 25 to Apr 11 | Aug 23 to Oct 22 |
| Carrot | — | Feb 25 to Mar 30 | Aug 11 to Sep 6 |
| Bush Bean | — | Apr 4 to May 25 | Jul 23 to Aug 25 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Apr 11 to Jul 11 | Jul 6 to Aug 6 |
| Pepper, bell | Mar 9 to Apr 30 | Apr 20 to Jun 11 | — |
| Kale | Jan 14 to Feb 11 | Feb 25 to Mar 25 | Aug 6 to Sep 21 |
| Spinach | — | Feb 11 to Mar 25 | Aug 23 to Oct 11 |
Newark sits in Zone 7a, but two gardens in the same city can be a week or two apart. The planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not the zone, so the dates land right for your block, not the metro average.
Build your Newark garden plan.
Tell the free planner what you want to eat and who you're feeding. It returns plant counts, spacing, and frost-safe sow dates for ZIP 07102 in about 60 seconds.