One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 first chance to plant basil in Cocoa can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Basil are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Cocoa 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Cocoa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cocoa is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cocoa 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 Cocoa

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 Cocoa

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