Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for El Mirage can be used to determine when to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in El Mirage is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 February 15 in El Mirage. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Mirage is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in El Mirage there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Mirage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in El Mirage

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Mirage.