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USDA Hardiness Zone 7b

Frost Dates for 11206 — Brooklyn, New York

Averages from New York Cntrl Pk Twr, Ny US, the nearest reporting station, 5.5 miles away.

Plant tender crops after March 30, and expect the first autumn freeze around November 20. That leaves about 236 frost-free days.

Last spring frost
March 30

50% probability

First fall frost
November 20

50% probability

Growing season
236 days

frost-free

Hardiness zone
7b

5 to 10°F annual low

Planting calendar for 11206

What to do and when, based on the frost normals for Brooklyn, New York
WhenWhat to do
January 19 – February 2

Start peppers and aubergines indoors

They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out.

February 2 – February 16

Start tomatoes indoors

Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early.

March 2 – March 16

Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors

These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil.

March 30 onward

Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers

The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast.

by August 28

Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas

They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops.

by November 6

Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them

A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation.

November 20 onward

Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbs

Garlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter.

What these dates mean

Wait until after March 30 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Brooklyn, New York are past their last freeze. Harvest before November 20, which leaves roughly 236 frost-free days.

ZIP 11206 sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between 5 to 10°F. Zone decides what survives the winter; frost dates decide when to plant each spring. They are different questions, and a plant can pass one and fail the other.

These are thirty-year NOAA averages for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Any individual year can frost two to three weeks either side of these dates, so check the actual forecast before planting out.

Other zone 7b ZIP codes in New York