When to plant · 9 cities · zones 7a–8a
When to plant basil in Arkansas
Start Genovese Basil seeds indoors around Feb 28 and transplant around Apr 11 — the Arkansas statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Mar 28 across 615 ZIP codes and 117 NOAA stations.
The rule: Basil is damaged below about 50 °F, well before frost: transplant two weeks after the last frost, not on it.
Arkansas basil, by step
Statewide median last frost Mar 28, first fall frost Nov 5, 2027 season. Each cultivar's own indoor lead time and days to maturity, same engine as the Plan Builder.
| Cultivar | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genovese BasilGenovese | Feb 28 | Apr 11 | Jun 10 | 60 from transplant |
Tight means first harvest lands within two weeks of the median first fall frost. Statewide dates are the ZIP-weighted median of every NOAA 1991–2020 station Arkansas's ZIP codes resolve to.
Basil in Arkansas, city by city
Genovese Basil, scheduled from each city's nearest NOAA station — the same dates as its frost page.
| City | Last frost | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Rockzone 8a | Mar 21 | Feb 21 | Apr 4 | Jun 3 |
| Fayettevillezone 7a | Apr 15 | Mar 18 | Apr 29 | Jun 28 |
| Fort Smithzone 8a | Mar 25 | Feb 25 | Apr 8 | Jun 7 |
| Springdalezone 7a | Apr 4 | Mar 7 | Apr 18 | Jun 17 |
| Jonesborozone 7b | Apr 1 | Mar 4 | Apr 15 | Jun 14 |
| Rogerszone 7a | Apr 12 | Mar 15 | Apr 26 | Jun 25 |
| Conwayzone 8a | Apr 2 | Mar 5 | Apr 16 | Jun 15 |
| North Little Rockzone 8a | Mar 16 | Feb 16 | Mar 30 | May 29 |
| Bentonvillezone 7a | Apr 12 | Mar 15 | Apr 26 | Jun 25 |
What these basil become
What Arkansas basil need
Genovese Sweet Basil Seed
The large-leaf, low-anise Italian basil that pesto is defined by. Thai and lemon basils are good plants and wrong ingredients.
Organic Seed Starter Potting MixMust have
Seed-starting mix is not potting soil with a nicer label — it is finer, lighter, and low in nutrients on purpose, because a seedling's first roots want air and moisture, not fertiliser.
T8 Full-Spectrum Grow Lights, 1 ft 4-packMust have
A south window in March delivers a fraction of the light a pepper seedling needs, and the plant tells you by stretching. Two inches of LED above the canopy for 16 hours a day fixes it permanently.
5-Gallon Fabric Grow Bags, 5-Pack
Fabric pots air-prune roots and drain faster than a plastic pot can, which is the entire reason container tomatoes fail. Five gallons is the honest minimum for a pepper; a tomato wants ten.
Ocean Forest Potting SoilMust have
Pre-charged with enough nutrition to carry a transplant for its first month without feeding, which is exactly the window when most container plants stall.
6" Micro-Tip Pruning SnipsMust have
Ninety percent of sauce-garden cutting is snipping a pepper stem or a basil node, and a fine-tipped snip does it better than any pruner. Pulling peppers by hand tears the branch.
Mesh Strainers, Stainless, 3-Count
The last pass before bottling. A fine mesh catches the skin fragments and seed shards that make a hot sauce gritty and clog a woozy bottle's dripper insert.
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Basil in Arkansas: questions
When should I plant basil in Arkansas?
Transplant around Apr 11 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 30 in the warmest tenth of Arkansas's ZIP codes to Apr 23 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from Apr 13 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.
When do I start basil seeds indoors in Arkansas?
Around Feb 28 for Genovese Basil: 4 weeks before the statewide median last frost, on soil held at 70–80 °F.
When is the last frost in Arkansas?
The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Mar 28. In the warmest tenth of Arkansas's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Mar 16; in the coldest tenth, on or after Apr 9.
When will Arkansas basil be ready to harvest?
Genovese Basil planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 10: 60 days from transplant.
More for Arkansas
- When to plant tomatoes
- When to plant peppers
- When to plant tomatillos
- When to plant onions
- When to plant cilantro
- When to plant carrots
- When to plant mustard greens
Basil in every state → · Arkansas frost dates → · How frost-date math works →