What Grows in Barker Ten Mile, North Carolina

USDA Zones 8b · 1K acres

Barker Ten Mile, North Carolina, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

On paper, cabbage, fig, california poppy, and collard greens all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Barker Ten Mile, 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 Barker Ten Mile 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 Barker Ten Mile — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Barker Ten Mile — the short answer

Barker Ten Mile, North Carolina: USDA zone 8b, about 262 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of town.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 7
Robeson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 24
Robeson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~262
Robeson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
1K 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 Robeson 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 Barker Ten Mile's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Barker Ten Mile's 262-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Barker Ten Mile

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

Season length

From county records

Barker Ten Mile runs about 262 days between hard freezes (read from Robeson County, the closest normal to Barker Ten Mile) — 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

Barker Ten Mile 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 Barker Ten Mile is in

Barker Ten Mile sits in the Southeastern Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Barker Ten Mile's own centroid rather than borrowed from Robeson County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Barker Ten Mile

Every plant below cleared Barker Ten Mile's own zone 8b and its 262-day season. Each card opens that plant's North Carolina profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in North CarolinaZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
North Carolina fig guideZones 6–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in North CarolinaZones 6–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: North Carolina growing notesZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in North CarolinaZones 7–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
North Carolina rosemary guideZones 8–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in North CarolinaZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: North Carolina growing notesZones 7–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in North CarolinaZones 5–8Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
North Carolina lentil guideZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in North CarolinaZones 5–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: North Carolina growing notesZones 2–12Barker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in North CarolinaZones 5–9Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
North Carolina potato guideZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in North CarolinaZones 3–11Barker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: North Carolina growing notesZones 3–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in North CarolinaZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
North Carolina apache plume guideZones 5–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in North CarolinaZones 3–8Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: North Carolina growing notesZones 3–8Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in North CarolinaBarker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
North Carolina holly guideZones 5–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in North CarolinaZones 7–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: North Carolina growing notesZones 6–8Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in North CarolinaZones 5–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
North Carolina pearl millet guideZones 5–11Barker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in North CarolinaZones 5–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: North Carolina growing notesZones 4–10Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in North CarolinaZones 2–11Barker Ten Mile's 262 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
North Carolina liriope guideZones 5–11Barker Ten Mile's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Barker Ten Mile?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 7; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 24 — 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.

Documented around Barker Ten Mile

Survey cells within 31 miles of Barker Ten Mile checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 70 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Barker Ten Mile

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

  1. FOREST ACRESUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  2. BILLY'S AUTO TEXACOUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  3. ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  4. HAPPY MART 4Underground Storage Tanks · 1.3 mi
  5. SCARBOROUGH BUILDING CENTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.3 mi
  6. RJ'SUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.3 mi
  7. MINUTEMAN FOOD MART #40Underground Storage Tanks · 1.3 mi
  8. SUN DO KWIK SHOP 301(BP)Underground Storage Tanks · 1.3 mi
  9. SALLY BEAUTY #2747Brownfields · 1.3 mi
  10. WALMART SUPERCENTER # 1155Brownfields · 1.3 mi
  11. SAM'S CLUB FULFILLMENT CENTER #9639Brownfields · 1.4 mi
  12. WAWA - #6106 FAYETTEVILLE RD & JACKSONBrownfields · 1.4 mi

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

Measured from Barker Ten Mile'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 Barker Ten Mile.

Total Sites

339

within ~10 miles of Barker Ten Mile

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

4 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Barker Ten Mile

High1Moderate135Low203

Highest-Severity Sites

Lumberton, City of
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
211 Quick Check
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
211 Quick Stop
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
41 Gas and Go
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
A & B Mini Mart
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Barker Ten Mile, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Barker Ten Mile — Toxics Release Inventory (26 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (243 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Barker Ten Mile

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 Barker Ten Mile average

Your land is one point inside Barker Ten Mile

Everything above resolves to Barker Ten Mile as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 1K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Robeson 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 Barker Ten Mile Average

Barker Ten Mile Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Barker Ten Mile
  • One soil character for all of Barker Ten Mile
  • Frost dates read at Barker Ten Mile's scale: Mar 7 to Nov 24

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Barker Ten Mile

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Barker Ten Mile, North Carolina — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Barker Ten Mile averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Barker Ten Mile averages 262Your sun & shade

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

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Barker Ten Mile average

How we know this about Barker Ten Mile

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 Robeson 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 Barker Ten Mile

When does frost risk typically end in Barker Ten Mile?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Barker Ten Mile typically lands around Mar 7, 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 28.

When is the first frost in Barker Ten Mile?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Barker Ten Mile typically arrives around Nov 24, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 10, so the watching starts about Oct 25 — about 262 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Barker Ten Mile?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Barker Ten Mile sees about 262 frost-free days — roughly Mar 7 through Nov 24, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 28 to Nov 10, about 227 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Barker Ten Mile?

The federal record around Barker Ten Mile is a meaningful one — 339 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (243), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.8 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 Barker Ten Mile?

From about Oct 25 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 24 (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 24. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Barker Ten Mile's scale — its 8b band and its 262-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Barker Ten Mile'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 Barker Ten Mile’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Barker Ten Mile's own scale — the 1,457 acres it covers and 339 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Barker Ten Mile's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 339 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Barker Ten Mile, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.8 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Barker Ten Mile's boundary and the 1,457 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~262-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Barker Ten Mile's own centroid, the Southeastern PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Barker Ten Mile checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Barker Ten Mile has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Robeson County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Barker Ten Mile's 1,457 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Robeson County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Robeson County
  • The growing challenges every North Carolina grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom North Carolina
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Robeson County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Barker Ten Mile's 1,457 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Barker Ten Mile you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,457 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.8 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 Barker Ten Mile-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address