Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Carterville it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Carterville 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. Any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Carterville. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Carterville is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Carterville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carterville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Carterville

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