Watering a Garden in Arkansas: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Arkansas summers throw two things at a garden: punishing heat and rain that shows up in bursts rather than steady soaks.
Gardening in Arkansas
Everything we have worked out for Arkansas: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Little Rock, the last spring freeze runs March 12 to March 28 and the first fall freeze runs November 7 to November 20, USDA zones 6b-8a, 5,606 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 13 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Arkansas: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Growing Potatoes in Arkansas: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
Arkansas summers cross 90°F on 69.2 days a year at the Little Rock reference station, well past the point where potato tubers stop sizing.
Canning at Altitude in Arkansas: What Your Elevation Changes
Arkansas canners rarely think about elevation until a jar fails to seal right or a recipe warns them to “adjust for altitude.” The truth is simpler than…
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Arkansas, and the Ones That Struggle
Arkansas’s heat, humidity and winter lows determine which flowers succeed, from native coneflowers to perennials that need extra winter protection in the coldest counties.
Planting Spring Bulbs in Arkansas: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
Arkansas gardeners can grow spring bulbs successfully, but not all of them, and the reason isn’t the calendar. It’s cold.
The Arkansas Apple Calendar, Stage by Stage
A stage-by-stage look at Arkansas apple trees, keyed to Little Rock’s NOAA frost windows rather than calendar months, from dormancy through harvest.
The Best Onion Varieties for Arkansas
Arkansas sits almost exactly on the line where short-day onions stop being the only option and intermediate-day varieties start pulling their weight.
The Best Apple Varieties for Arkansas
Arkansas apple success depends on matching a tree’s chill and bloom timing to Little Rock’s frost dates, not on a specific variety name alone.
Firewood in Arkansas: Which Woods Your Winter Actually Needs
Arkansas winters don’t ask for the same woodpile as Minnesota, but they’re not mild enough to ignore, either.
Arkansas Soil: What You Are Digging Into, and How to Improve It
Dig a shovel into Arkansas ground and you’re most likely hitting something related to the Stuttgart series, a slightly acid, silt-heavy loam that drains…