What Grows in Sherrill, Arkansas

USDA Zones 8b · 84 acres

Sherrill, Arkansas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

The conditions favor cabbage, fig, california poppy, and collard greens, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Sherrill, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Sherrill lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data around Sherrill — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Sherrill — the short answer

Sherrill, Arkansas: USDA zone 8b, about 279 days between hard freezes, across 84 acres of town.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 23
Jefferson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 29
Jefferson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~279
Jefferson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
84 acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. No 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid, so the hard-freeze dates are Jefferson County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

8b8b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 8b is Sherrill's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Sherrill's 279-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Sherrill

Each reading below is measured for Sherrill itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

From county records

Sherrill runs about 279 days between hard freezes (read from Jefferson County, the closest normal to Sherrill) — close to year-round growing.

Frost is rarely the limit here; winter plantings are as real as summer ones, and the harder question is which crops shrug off the summer heat.

Grow cool-season crops through the mild winter, and choose heat-tolerant varieties for the summer beds.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Sherrill sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Sherrill is in

Sherrill sits in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Sherrill's own centroid rather than borrowed from Jefferson County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Sherrill

Every plant below cleared Sherrill's own zone 8b and its 279-day season. Each card opens that plant's Arkansas profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in ArkansasZones 2–11Sherrill's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Arkansas fig guideZones 6–10Sherrill's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in ArkansasZones 6–10Sherrill's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Arkansas growing notesZones 2–11Sherrill's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in ArkansasZones 7–10Sherrill's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Arkansas rosemary guideZones 8–10Sherrill's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in ArkansasZones 2–11Sherrill's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Arkansas growing notesZones 7–10Sherrill's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in ArkansasZones 5–8Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Arkansas lentil guideZones 2–11Sherrill's 279 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in ArkansasZones 5–10Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Arkansas growing notesZones 2–12Sherrill's 279 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in ArkansasZones 5–9Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Arkansas potato guideZones 2–11Sherrill's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in ArkansasZones 3–11Sherrill's 279 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Arkansas growing notesZones 3–10Sherrill's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in ArkansasZones 2–11Sherrill's 279 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Arkansas apache plume guideZones 5–11Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in ArkansasZones 3–8Sherrill's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Arkansas growing notesZones 3–8Sherrill's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in ArkansasSherrill's 279 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Arkansas holly guideZones 5–11Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in ArkansasZones 7–10Sherrill's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Arkansas growing notesZones 6–8Sherrill's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in ArkansasZones 5–11Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Arkansas pearl millet guideZones 5–11Sherrill's 279 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in ArkansasZones 5–11Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Arkansas growing notesZones 4–10Sherrill's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in ArkansasZones 2–11Sherrill's 279 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Arkansas liriope guideZones 5–11Sherrill's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Sherrill?

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 26; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 23 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 29 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.

What's on the federal record near Sherrill

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Sherrill. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. 04S09W11ACB1Nitrate · 1700 ft
  2. TOMMY'S FLYING SERVICESBrownfields · 1900 ft
  3. 04S09W09CAB1Nitrate · 2.2 mi
  4. AT&T COMMUNICATIONSUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.3 mi
  5. JEFFERSON CO-OP GINBrownfields · 3.8 mi
  6. 03S08W19BBC1Nitrate · 4.2 mi
  7. 03S09W20CCD1Nitrate · 4.5 mi
  8. SHERRILL SHELLUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.8 mi
  9. AR DEPT OF CORRECTION - TUCKERUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.0 mi
  10. W. B. ALBRIGHT PLANTING COMPANUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.0 mi
  11. 03S08W18BDB1Nitrate · 5.4 mi
  12. CORNERSTONE FARM & GIN COMPANYUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.7 mi

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Sherrill's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Sherrill.

Total Sites

136

within ~10 miles of Sherrill

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

4 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Sherrill

High0Moderate82Low54

Highest-Severity Sites

03s08w18bdb1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
03s08w18bdb1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
03s08w19bbc1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
03s08w19bbc1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
03s09w18cc2
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Sherrill, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Sherrill — Superfund (4 sites) and Nitrate (66 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Sherrill

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Sherrill average

Your land is one point inside Sherrill

Everything above resolves to Sherrill as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 84 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Jefferson County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at town scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Sherrill Average

Sherrill Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Sherrill
  • One soil character for all of Sherrill
  • Frost dates read at Sherrill's scale: Feb 23 to Nov 29

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Sherrill's 8b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Sherrill

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Sherrill, Arkansas — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Sherrill averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Sherrill averages 279Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Sherrill — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Sherrill average

How we know this about Sherrill

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Jefferson County’s record, because none resolves here; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Sherrill

When does frost risk typically end in Sherrill?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Sherrill typically lands around Feb 23, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about Mar 16.

When is the first frost in Sherrill?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Sherrill typically arrives around Nov 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 15, so the watching starts about Oct 30 — about 279 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Sherrill?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Sherrill sees about 279 frost-free days — roughly Feb 23 through Nov 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 16 to Nov 15, about 244 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Sherrill?

The federal record around Sherrill is a meaningful one — 136 documented sites, mostly Nitrate entries (66), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.3 miles out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Sherrill?

From about Oct 30 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Nov 29 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Nov 29. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Sherrill's scale — its 8b band and its 279-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Sherrill's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Sherrill’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Sherrill's own scale — the 84 acres it covers and 136 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Sherrill's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 136 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Sherrill, the closest Nitrate record about 0.3 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Sherrill's boundary and the 84 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~279-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Sherrill's own centroid, the Mississippi Alluvial PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Sherrill has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Jefferson County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Sherrill's 84 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Jefferson County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Jefferson County
  • The growing challenges every Arkansas grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Arkansas
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Jefferson County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Sherrill's 84 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Sherrill you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 84 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.3 miles out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Sherrill-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address