When to Plant Basil in Corning, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant basil by checking out the USDA zone info for Corning.


Planting Calendar for Basil

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

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant basil
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant basil
Probably not a good time to plant basil

The earliest that you can plant basil in Corning 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. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Corning. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Corning and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Corning you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Corning

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Corning

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