One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant basil by checking out the USDA zone info for Canton.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant basil until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Canton 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. 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Canton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Canton there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Canton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Canton

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