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.

In Gadsden you can estimate when it's the best time to plant basil by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

You really shouldn't plant basil until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Gadsden is April. However, you really should wait until May 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 really do well. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Gadsden. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Gadsden is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Gadsden you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gadsden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Gadsden

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