One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant basil is to check out the USDA zone info for Anchorage.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant basil until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Anchorage is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your basil may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Anchorage. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Anchorage and it is different every year. Half of the time in Anchorage you get a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Anchorage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Anchorage

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Anchorage.