Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when to plant basil is to use the USDA zone info for Chillicothe.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Chillicothe 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Chillicothe. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chillicothe is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Chillicothe last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chillicothe

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 Chillicothe

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