Paterson, NJ · zone 7a · ~199 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Paterson.
In Paterson, the typical last spring frost lands around Apr 13 and the first fall frost around Oct 29, giving you about 199 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 Paterson, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Mar 9 to May 9 | Apr 20 to Jun 20 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Mar 6 to Apr 20 | Aug 15 to Oct 14 |
| Carrot | — | Mar 6 to Apr 8 | Aug 3 to Aug 29 |
| Bush Bean | — | Apr 13 to Jun 3 | Jul 15 to Aug 17 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Apr 20 to Jul 20 | Jun 28 to Jul 29 |
| Pepper, bell | Mar 18 to May 9 | Apr 29 to Jun 20 | — |
| Kale | Jan 23 to Feb 20 | Mar 6 to Apr 3 | Jul 29 to Sep 13 |
| Spinach | — | Feb 20 to Apr 3 | Aug 15 to Oct 3 |
Paterson 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 Paterson 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 07501 in about 60 seconds.