Asian greens in Arkansas do best in two windows. Spring plantings go in once the beds have warmed after the last frost. Fall plantings are sown in late summer and harvested ahead of the first hard freeze. Fall is the more forgiving of the two, because spring plantings race the heat and often lose. The growing season at the Little Rock reference station runs more than seven months, so there is room for both.
When the soil is warm enough in Arkansas
The last spring frost at the Little Rock reference station falls between March 12 and March 28. That comes from the NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 Climate Normals, using the 30-70% probability band for a 32F freeze at station USW00013963. A frost date is a probability, so some years will still bring a freeze after March 28.
Seeds respond to the soil, and soil lags behind the air. After a cold winter the top few inches stay chilly well after afternoons feel like spring. Asian greens are cool-season brassicas and germinate in cool ground, but they come up slowly and unevenly in cold, wet soil. The soil usually reaches a comfortable temperature after the frost window closes, so the March dates tell you when to start checking the bed. Sow when the soil drains well and has warmed enough to work.
How do you check soil temperature before sowing Asian greens?
Push a soil thermometer into the bed and take the reading. Take the reading on several mornings in a row, because one warm afternoon proves little. Then squeeze a handful of soil. If it crumbles, the bed is ready. If it holds a wet, slick ribbon, wait, especially in heavy clay, which warms slowly and stays soggy after spring rain.
Can you sow Asian greens before the last frost date?
Young plants shrug off a light frost. The National Weather Service in Little Rock puts the 36F light-frost dates at April 3 and October 31, and those are the dates that matter to tender crops like tomatoes. Asian greens are hardier than that. A hard freeze on open seedlings still burns the leaves, though.
Cold snaps carry a second risk. A stretch of chilly nights after a warm spell can push bok choy and napa-type cabbages to bolt, sending up a flower stalk before the plant has made a harvest. A sheet of floating row cover over an early sowing handles both problems. If you are weighing a first sowing in early March against one in April, the later one often performs better than you would expect.
For the general picture of how these crops behave, see Growing Asian Greens: Fast, Cold-Hardy, and Prone to Bolting. For the varieties that have been trialled near you, ask your county office of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.
How long the season lasts here
The reference station has a bit over seven months between the mean last spring frost (March 12 to March 28) and the mean first fall frost (November 7 to November 20), stretching toward eight months at the long end. Those are 32F dates. For quick crops like these greens, that window is generous.
Is there time for a second sowing of Asian greens?
Yes, and usually a third. A window this long allows one spring sowing and one fall sowing, with a pause in between while summer heat makes the crop impractical. In early spring you can stagger small sowings, so the harvest arrives in pieces instead of one glut. Plantings made once summer heat arrives tend to bolt or turn bitter, so the second round belongs to late summer.
For fall, count back from the November freeze. Take the days to maturity on the seed packet, which count from sowing for seed sown in the ground, and add a margin, because growth slows as the days shorten. Fast leafy types such as mizuna, tatsoi and baby mustards leave the most room for error. Headed types need the most lead time. The succession sowing guide on this site lays out how to space those rounds.
Is transplanting Asian greens worth it?
In most of the state, direct sowing is simpler, and Asian greens often resent root disturbance. Transplants earn their keep in two cases. One is a late-summer start, when the seedbed is too hot and dry for seed to come up evenly. The other is a short season, which matters in the higher, colder parts of the state.
Either way, check the roots before you buy or set out a seedling. Slide one out of its cell. You want firm white roots that hold the soil together without circling the bottom. A pot-bound seedling is stressed, and a stressed Asian green is quick to bolt, so a tidy-looking top can hide a plant that will not give you much.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) puts the state in zones 6b to 8a. That is a range, and Little Rock is the sensible reference point for dates. The Ozark highlands in the north run colder, with a shorter window, while the southern and eastern parts run warmer and stretch it. Gardeners in another humid Southern state can compare notes with Growing Asian Greens in Alabama.
Heat and water in Arkansas
Summers are hot and humid, and that shapes the whole calendar. Asian greens belong to the second half of the year, so two cold-side facts govern the crop: the first frost, which sets how late a sowing can still finish, and the winter low, which decides how long the hardiest types stand.
How does summer heat affect Asian greens?
Heat and long days push these plants to bolt. Leaves turn bitter or peppery, and the stalk shoots up. A spring sowing that goes in late meets that heat before it has made a full harvest. A fall sowing starts in heat and finishes in cool weather, which is the pattern these plants like.
Late-summer sowings need help to get started. Water the row lightly until seedlings emerge, because the surface dries fast. Shade cloth over the bed keeps the soil cooler, and mulch once the plants are up holds moisture. Steady water also matters in the bed itself: a plant that swings between dry and soaked grows tough and bolts sooner. Drip irrigation or a soaker hose gives the most even moisture.
What does humid weather mean for disease and pests?
Warm, damp air favors fungal and bacterial trouble, mainly downy mildew and leaf spots. Give plants room, water at the base in the morning, and keep foliage dry going into the evening. Flea beetles, cabbage worms and harlequin bugs are the usual insect pests. Row cover installed at sowing keeps them off, and hand-picking handles light infestations.
Asian greens are brassicas, and so are turnips, rutabagas, cabbage, kale and mustard. They share the same diseases and insects, so a bed that held any of them last season has not been rotated if you plant Asian greens there. Leave time between brassica crops in the same ground. The crop rotation guide on this site covers how to plan the beds.
Can Asian greens stand through an Arkansas winter?
The first 32F frost at the reference station falls between November 7 and November 20, and the 36F date is October 31. The coldest month at Little Rock has a mean daily minimum of 30.9 F, so an average winter night sits just under freezing. The USDA zone system measures something harsher, the average annual extreme minimum, and across the state it reads 6b to 8a.
The hardiest types, such as tatsoi and mizuna, can come through under a low tunnel or heavy row cover, especially in the milder south. Tender heading types usually end with the first hard freeze. Where winters run colder, in the north, even the hardy ones may not make it without protection. For a very different water picture, Growing Asian Greens in New Mexico covers dry-climate growing.
Which Asian greens suit Arkansas
Choose by type first. Arkansas has a long window, so you can grow almost any Asian green in the cool shoulders of the year. The deciding factors are heat, humidity and the speed you need.
| Type | Speed | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Mizuna, tatsoi, baby mustards | Fastest | Early spring and late fall, and the best choice for late sowings |
| Komatsuna and choy sum | Moderate | Spring and fall, with more heat tolerance than most |
| Bok choy (pak choi) | Moderate | Fall especially, since cold snaps in spring can trigger bolting |
| Napa cabbage | Slowest | Fall only, with an early start and good airflow |
A hot climate favors types that handle heat and respond well to airflow and shade at the root. Wide spacing and a mulch layer cool the root zone. A humid one makes disease resistance the first criterion. Seed catalogs flag slow-bolting types and resistance to mildew, so read those descriptions before you buy.
No variety is named here, on purpose. A cultivar that thrives in one county can bolt or mildew in another, and the only recommendation worth following is one tested nearby. Your county office at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service knows which varieties have been trialled where you live.
Common questions
Can you grow Asian greens in Arkansas in summer?
Most will bolt or turn bitter in midsummer heat. Fast baby-leaf types sown with shade cloth and steady water can give a small cut, but plan on fall as your main crop.
Do Asian greens survive an Arkansas winter?
The hardiest types can, under a low tunnel or row cover, particularly in the milder south. Tender heading types usually end with the first hard freeze, which at the Little Rock reference station arrives between November 7 and November 20.
Can I plant Asian greens where cabbage or turnips grew last year?
No. Turnips and rutabagas are brassicas, like cabbage, kale and mustard, and they share the same diseases and pests. Rotate Asian greens to a bed that has been free of all of them for several seasons.
How do I tell whether harvested greens are safe to keep?
Inspect every head and root before storing it. Look for yellowing, slime, soft patches, weeping spots and mold, especially at the crown. Any of those ends the question, and the plant goes in the compost. A firm, clean look is not a guarantee, so keep stored greens cold and use them promptly.