One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Marathon you can estimate 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 when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant basil until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Marathon is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably November. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marathon it never frosts. It might get as low as 45°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Marathon is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Marathon you do not have to be ready to protect your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marathon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Marathon

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