The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant basil is to check out the USDA zone info for Oak Park.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

You can not plant basil until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Oak Park 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 fully mature. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Oak Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Oak Park is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Oak Park there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Oak Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Park.