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 Long Beach can be looked at to figure out 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.

You can not plant basil until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Long Beach 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Long Beach the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Long Beach and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Long Beach you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.