When to Plant Basil in Hughson, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Hughson should be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant basil.


Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Basil do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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 Hughson 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hughson the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Hughson is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Hughson you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hughson

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Hughson

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