One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Fairbanks you can estimate when to plant basil by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since basil require warm weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Fairbanks 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. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Fairbanks. It might get as low as -50°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fairbanks is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fairbanks last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

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