Metuchen, NJ 08840 Frost Dates
08840, near Metuchen, NJ: the frost window
Around 04/11 is the usual last spring frost, about 226 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/31, roughly 202 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Metuchen in Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Metuchen's growing season runs out in roughly 9 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/30 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/28 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Metuchen against the rest of the dataset
Metuchen's growing season runs about 202 days, ranking 17,164 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NJ, it ranks 395 of 906.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 08840: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7a and Metuchen's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Metuchen's dates instead of trusting one.