When to plant in Helena, AR

Planting dates worked out from Helena's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

Apr 3

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 19

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 14

1 year in 10 by Nov 2

Frost-free days

237

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Helena · 1.0 km away · station 66 m, town 60 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 6 – Feb 20	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 28
Sweet pepper	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	Jun 2
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 15 – Jan 22	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Mar 31
Peas	—	Feb 5 – Mar 5	Apr 1
Bush beans	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 16
Carrot	—	Feb 26 – Apr 9	Apr 27
Beet	—	Feb 21 – Apr 4	Apr 12
Potato	—	Feb 26 – Mar 19	May 7
Kale	Jan 8 – Jan 22	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Apr 3
Broccoli	Jan 8 – Jan 22	Feb 19 – Mar 12	Apr 20
Cucumber	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 23
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 18
Winter squash	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	Jun 22
Sweet corn	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 19 – Mar 12	May 20
Garlic	—	Oct 31 – Nov 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 5 – Mar 5	Mar 15
Basil	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 30

Plan all 65 crops for Helena

Helena's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1903	Mar 1
1904	Mar 28
1905	Feb 26
1906	Apr 1
1907	Feb 23
1908	Feb 28
1909	Mar 15
1910	Apr 25
1911	Mar 16
1925	Mar 15
1926	Apr 1
1927	Mar 22
1928	Apr 16
1929	Mar 17
1930	Mar 30
1931	Apr 22
1932	Mar 15
1933	Mar 21
1934	Mar 28
1935	Feb 28
1936	Apr 3
1937	Apr 6
1938	Apr 3
1939	Mar 16
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 1
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 5
1945	Mar 1
1946	Mar 9
1947	Mar 28
1948	Mar 14
1949	Mar 20
1950	Mar 14
1951	Mar 20
1952	Mar 16
1953	Feb 23
1954	Mar 16
1955	Mar 28
1956	Mar 20
1957	Apr 13
1958	Mar 20
1959	Mar 23
1960	Mar 25
1961	Feb 26
1962	Apr 16
1963	Mar 23
1964	Mar 31
1966	Apr 7
1967	Mar 19
1968	Apr 6
1969	Mar 27
1970	Mar 16
1971	Apr 8
1972	Mar 4
1974	Apr 6
1975	Apr 4
1976	Mar 18
1977	Mar 23
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 26
1981	Mar 19
1982	Mar 8
1983	Mar 29
1984	Mar 11
1985	Feb 28
1986	Mar 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Mar 16
1989	Apr 11
1990	Feb 26
1991	Mar 31
1992	Apr 4
1993	Mar 18
1994	Mar 10
1995	Mar 10
1997	Feb 24
1998	Mar 13
1999	Mar 16
2000	Mar 13
2003	Mar 11
2004	Feb 27
2005	Mar 15
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 8
2008	Mar 24
2010	Mar 29
2011	Apr 1
2012	Feb 21
2013	Mar 27
2014	Mar 26
2015	Mar 10
2016	Mar 20
2017	Mar 17
2018	Apr 17
2019	Mar 8
2024	Mar 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1903	236
1904	229
1905	276
1906	225
1907	261
1908	256
1909	211
1910	186
1911	230
1925	218
1926	206
1927	240
1928	217
1929	220
1930	214
1931	191
1932	240
1933	231
1934	228
1935	262
1936	214
1937	199
1938	203
1939	226
1940	212
1941	223
1942	223
1943	183
1944	230
1945	247
1946	248
1947	228
1948	217
1949	225
1950	235
1951	226
1953	259
1955	220
1956	233
1957	197
1958	251
1959	227
1960	229
1961	242
1962	201
1963	235
1964	233
1966	195
1967	194
1968	201
1969	222
1970	234
1971	209
1974	222
1975	223
1976	216
1977	232
1978	260
1979	229
1981	218
1982	240
1983	227
1984	245
1985	276
1986	235
1987	220
1988	260
1989	191
1990	276
1991	216
1992	215
1993	226
1994	265
1995	238
1997	263
1998	237
1999	265
2003	257
2004	276
2005	246
2006	220
2007	221
2008	236
2010	222
2011	230
2012	264
2014	220
2015	256
2016	263
2017	225
2018	206
2019	237
2024	253

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1903	22.8 °C
1904	22.6 °C
1905	23.7 °C
1906	23.8 °C
1907	23.0 °C
1908	24.2 °C
1909	23.5 °C
1910	23.3 °C
1911	23.9 °C
1925	26.5 °C
1926	24.8 °C
1927	24.9 °C
1928	22.7 °C
1929	23.7 °C
1930	24.5 °C
1931	23.4 °C
1932	23.7 °C
1933	23.9 °C
1934	24.5 °C
1935	23.3 °C
1936	24.4 °C
1937	23.6 °C
1938	23.8 °C
1939	23.5 °C
1940	21.9 °C
1941	23.9 °C
1942	23.3 °C
1943	24.3 °C
1944	23.6 °C
1945	22.9 °C
1946	22.8 °C
1947	23.7 °C
1948	24.1 °C
1949	23.8 °C
1950	23.4 °C
1951	24.3 °C
1952	25.2 °C
1953	24.7 °C
1954	25.9 °C
1955	24.9 °C
1956	24.5 °C
1957	23.9 °C
1958	23.9 °C
1959	24.4 °C
1960	24.4 °C
1961	22.5 °C
1962	23.7 °C
1963	23.6 °C
1964	23.9 °C
1966	22.1 °C
1967	21.9 °C
1968	22.4 °C
1969	22.4 °C
1970	23.6 °C
1971	22.8 °C
1974	21.8 °C
1975	22.3 °C
1976	21.4 °C
1977	24.0 °C
1978	23.3 °C
1979	22.1 °C
1981	23.8 °C
1982	23.5 °C
1983	22.7 °C
1984	22.5 °C
1985	24.3 °C
1986	24.9 °C
1987	24.6 °C
1988	24.3 °C
1989	22.9 °C
1990	23.8 °C
1991	24.2 °C
1992	23.1 °C
1993	23.6 °C
1994	23.6 °C
1995	24.3 °C
1997	23.2 °C
1998	25.5 °C
1999	24.5 °C
2003	23.9 °C
2004	23.7 °C
2005	24.7 °C
2006	24.8 °C
2007	24.4 °C
2008	23.5 °C
2010	26.0 °C
2011	24.8 °C
2012	25.1 °C
2014	23.4 °C
2015	23.9 °C
2016	24.4 °C
2017	23.9 °C
2018	24.3 °C
2024	24.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1903, Helena's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Helena (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Helena-West Helena West Helena Friars Point, MS Jonestown, MS North Tunica, MS Marvell