One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant basil in Carlsbad by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Carlsbad is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Carlsbad the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Carlsbad may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Carlsbad it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carlsbad

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Carlsbad

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