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.

You should be able to determine when you can plant basil by reviewing the USDA zone info for Milpitas.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Milpitas 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Milpitas. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Milpitas may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Milpitas last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Milpitas

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 Milpitas

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