Middlesex, NJ 08854 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Middlesex, NJ?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/11, roughly 226 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/31, about 202 frost-free days later.
Middlesex sits in USDA Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Middlesex before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Middlesex compares
Middlesex's growing season runs about 202 days, ranking 17,190 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NJ, it ranks 400 of 906.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Middlesex can differ from the 08854 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7a and Middlesex's frost date answer different questions.