When to plant vegetables and start seeds indoors for a spring garden

A special dedication at the Eatontown Community Garden

Even though there’s still snow on the ground and temperatures continue to feel like the negatives, there’s no time like the present to prepare for the warmer days ahead.

Soon enough we’ll be storing away our winter coats and whipping out bathing suits, and for those with green thumbs — ditching snow blowers for gardening tools.

Even during these seemingly endless freezing days, planting calendars from farming website almanac.com allows gardeners to map out when to garden what for 2026 —starting with your area’s first and last frost dates. You can generate your local frost dates here.

For the Asbury Park area, the last spring frost is estimated to be around April 16, and the first fall frost should fall around Oct. 30. This gives gardeners a planting season of about 196 days.

Farmer’s Almanac’s frost dates have a 30 percent probability based on NOAA Climate Normals, meaning there’s about a 3 in 10 chance frost will occur before or after the given date. It’s important to monitor your local weather report before planting warm-season crops outdoors.

What should I plant first?

Before the last frost, hardier vegetables like spinach, potatoes, peas, radishes, onions and carrots can be planted. These are cooler weather crops that can withstand light frosts and can benefit from being in colder soil.

More tender vegetables like basil, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes should wait until after all possibilities of a frost have passed.

Starting seeds indoors

To get a head start on growing season, many gardeners start seeds for their crops indoors. When planted inside, younger plants can grow in a controlled environment, protected from elements like pests, drops in temperature, rain, wind and frost.

It’s recommended to start seeds 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost. Tender vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant can benefit from starting their growth indoors.

Avoid growing crops like watermelon, radishes, beets, carrots, squash, indoors since they need warm soil to thrive, don’t tolerate root disturbance and are best when directly sown-in a garden.