Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant watercress in Long Branch can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since watercress are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Long Branch is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Long Branch the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Long Branch and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Long Branch you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your watercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Long Branch

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Long Branch

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Branch.