Hi Emily,
I'm not familiar with the particular crops you mention [I plant herbs and flowers, no vegies], but most people take Mothers Day as the last frost date.
I normally plant out in April, but this has been such a cold Spring (25 degrees this morning - unusual for April), I'll be waiting for the soil to warm up.

Hope you have a successful garden!

ellen

I ended up here, looking for the same answer! I live at the shore, so my climate is a little different, however, I remember last year planting a bunch of flowers in early May and they got hit by a frost only a few days later and they didn't really come back, so i'm nervous. I'm just starting my seedlings now and aiming to put them in the ground no later than Memorial Day. May mean later crops, but I'm a little behind!!!

Thank you!
Cristina

Thanks for askin this question Emily , I'm wondering the same thing...I'm in the Central Jersey area...My first year starting...Im vegetarian so this is good for me...Peace and Love Everyone...

In April you can put out transplants of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, leafy greens. Don't know about the peas - they're pretty cold hardy and I usually direct sow those on or near St. Patrick's Day - but if you've started them indoors, they might need a little hardening off.

Wait until May to plant beans, peppers, tomatoes and cantaloupe. Peppers and tomatoes, especially, prefer the soil be warmed up for them. You could probably put them out sooner, but they're not going to do much until the ground warms up.

In any event, it's a good idea to have some floating row cover on hand, or even some old sheets. A late frost is usually a light frost and a layer of fabric is often just enough protection to stave off disaster.

Diane

PS - I'm at the shore too, bigwuhead, in Monmouth County.

Mother's day at the absolute earliest for peppers and tomatoes, basil. Mine go in the week before Memorial day every year here in Somerset county.

I will direct seed my lettuce, carrots, greens this coming week.