The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In San Jose you can determine when it's possible to plant basil by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Basil require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in San Jose 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 fully mature. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Jose. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Jose is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in San Jose it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.