Which frost date do the crop weeks use?

Weeks after the frost-free date use the median last 32°F date, March 30, when the guide does not name a probability. Weeks before the first freeze use the median first 32°F date, November 17. Both medians are 50% dates in the NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the station on this page. The page says when that anchor was used.

Where do the crop dates come from?

Crop dates come from the extension guide cited on this page, not from a second calendar invented here. The publisher and the title are printed with the source note. A month without a day is expanded to the first and last day of that month, and the page says so. A phrase without two dates stays a phrase.

Is this planting calendar a forecast?

No. The frost dates are 1991–2020 climate normals at the station 3.8 miles from the city point. The crop windows are the cited guide’s ranges, shifted only when that guide itself used weeks. A cold spring can still fall past the median. The National Weather Service forecast covers a particular night. This page does not.

Planting calendar for Camden, NJ

Direct answer. In Camden, NJ, the median last 32°F date at PHILA FRANKLIN INST, PA US (USC00366886) is March 30, and the median first 32°F date is November 17. The station is 3.8 miles from the city point. Crop windows come from Rutgers NJAES. Where that guide counts weeks from a frost date and does not name a 10%, 50%, or 90% level, those weeks are applied to these median dates.

Median last 32°F March 30. Median first 32°F November 17. Frost dates for Camden.

A wall calendar surrounded by vegetables, herbs, seed packets, and watering cans.

Median last 32°F is March 30. Median first 32°F is November 17. The 50% growing-season length is 232 days. The green band runs from the median last frost to the median first frost. Thin ticks mark the 10%, 50%, and 90% dates.

Outside the median season Growing seasonTicks: 10%, 50%, and 90%

Last 32°F in spring

NCEI’s probability is the chance the last spring minimum of 32°F or lower occurs on or after the date.

Probability	Date	How to read it
90%	March 15	Earlier date. A last 32°F on or after this day is common.
50%	March 30	Median.
10%	April 12	Later date. A last 32°F on or after this day is uncommon.

First 32°F in fall

NCEI’s probability is the chance the first autumn minimum of 32°F or lower occurs on or before the date.

Probability	Date	How to read it
10%	November 4	Earlier date. A first 32°F on or before this day is uncommon.
50%	November 17	Median.
90%	December 4	Later date. A first 32°F on or before this day is common.

32°F growing-season length

Days between the last spring 32°F and the first autumn 32°F. The figure is a length the season meets or exceeds at that probability, from NCEI, not a subtraction done on this site.

Probability the season is at least this long	Days
10%	255
50%	232
90%	214

28°F threshold

	10%	50%	90%
Last, on or after	March 31	March 17	March 1
First, on or before	November 12	November 29	December 18
Season at least	282 days	257 days	235 days

36°F threshold

	10%	50%	90%
Last, on or after	April 23	April 8	March 27
First, on or before	October 23	November 5	November 20
Season at least	230 days	211 days	192 days

Station PHILA FRANKLIN INST, PA US (USC00366886). Completeness flag S, 25 years used for the 32°F dates. NCEI’s annual probability of at least one day at or below 32°F is 100%. Freeze dates are conditional on that threshold occurring. Elevation 18.3 m. The same probability language applies to the 28°F and 36°F rows when those dates passed the same quality checks.

Questions

Which frost date do the crop weeks use?: Weeks after the frost-free date use the median last 32°F date, March 30, when the guide does not name a probability. Weeks before the first freeze use the median first 32°F date, November 17. Both medians are 50% dates in the NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the station on this page. The page says when that anchor was used.
Where do the crop dates come from?: Crop dates come from the extension guide cited on this page, not from a second calendar invented here. The publisher and the title are printed with the source note. A month without a day is expanded to the first and last day of that month, and the page says so. A phrase without two dates stays a phrase.
Is this planting calendar a forecast?: No. The frost dates are 1991–2020 climate normals at the station 3.8 miles from the city point. The crop windows are the cited guide’s ranges, shifted only when that guide itself used weeks. A cold spring can still fall past the median. The National Weather Service forecast covers a particular night. This page does not.

Crops in the cited guide

Camden, NJ

Zone 7bAverage annual extreme minimum 5°F to 10°F

Outside the median season Growing seasonTicks: 10%, 50%, and 90%

New Jersey. Nearest qualified station: PHILA FRANKLIN INST, PA US (USC00366886), 3.8 miles. Median last 32°F March 30. Median first 32°F November 17. The 50% growing-season length is 232 days.

Open the ZIP page · Crop guides for New Jersey

32°F probabilities at this station

	10%	50%	90%
Last 32°F on or after	April 12	March 30	March 15
First 32°F on or before	November 4	November 17	December 4

Column order matches the NCEI file: for the last freeze, 10% is the later date and 90% is the earlier date. How to read the probabilities.

Planting calendar

Windows below are from Rutgers NJAES, FS129: Planning a Vegetable Garden, retrieved 2026-10-10. The fact sheet gives one statewide month list. Footnote dated April 2020: Mr=March; Ap=April; Ma=May; Ju=June; Jl=July; Au=August; Se=September. Consecutive months are stored as one range; a gap, such as April and July, stays two windows.

Crop

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State crop pages: Beans, Snap, bush · Beets · Broccoli · Cabbage · Carrots · Chard, Swiss · Collards · Corn, Sweet