Last Frost Date: When Is It Time To Plant In Manalapan?

MANALAPAN, NJ — In Manalapan, inflation, rising food prices, and the nutritional benefits of homegrown produce have bred a new generation of home gardeners.

Whether you're a first-time or seasoned gardener, one of the most important dates to remember as you plan your garden this spring is:

When does the danger of frost pass in Manalapan?

It's April 19, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac, which offers a ZIP code tool to help gardeners figure out when to plant what.

The growing season is 179 days long in Manalapan. Looking ahead to fall, the first frost usually occurs around Oct. 16.

According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, there is a 30 percent chance of a frost occurring after April 16, as the date is determined using National Oceanic and Atmospheric historical data from 1981 to 2010, and is not “set in stone.”

Oct. 16 represents the average date of the final “light freeze,” which occurs when the temperature dips between 29 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, tender plants can be killed.

A “moderate freeze,” between 25 and 28 degrees, is destructive to most plants; and a “severe freeze,” at anything under 24 degrees, can do heavy damage to most garden plants, according to the almanac.

As the pandemic's third gardening season gets underway in Manalapan, The Old Farmer's Almanac has another tool to help gardeners decide when to plant which crops.

In Manalapan, it's best to plant corn on April 19, potatoes between April 12 and May 3 and spinach between March 7 and March 29.

Here's a look at other crops, and when the Old Farmer's Almanac says to begin planting them in Manalapan:

• Arugula: April 19
• Beets: April 26
• Carrots: March 29
• Chives: March 29
• Cilantro: April 19
• Green beans: April 26
• Okra: May 3
• Onions: March 22
• Parsley: April 5
• Parsnips: April 19
• Peas: March 29
• Radishes: March 15
• Turnips: March 22

Even before the pandemic, mental health experts pointed to gardening as a way to deal with stress.

Gardening provides physical exercise and promotes healthier eating, but it can also reduce worry among people who consider themselves perfectionists, psychologist Seth Gillihan said.

“Given the lack of control we have, gardening can be a good antidote for perfectionism,” Gillihan wrote in a 2019 Psychology Today blog. “No matter how carefully you plan and execute your garden, there are countless factors you can't predict — invasions by bugs, inclement weather, hungry rodents.”

With so many things out of their control, perfectionism is a waste of time, he said, so gardeners may ask themselves “why bother” trying to be perfect.