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

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant basil is to examine the USDA zone info for Staunton.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

You can not plant basil until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Staunton 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. If you wait 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 Staunton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Staunton and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Staunton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Staunton

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 Staunton

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