The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 Tallahassee you can estimate when to plant basil 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 has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant basil until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tallahassee. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tallahassee is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tallahassee you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tallahassee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Tallahassee

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