One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Port Jefferson it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant watercress.

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.

Watercress do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Port Jefferson 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Port Jefferson. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Port Jefferson is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Port Jefferson you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Jefferson

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 Port Jefferson

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Jefferson.