One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant basil in Lansing can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

You really shouldn't 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 Lansing 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lansing the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lansing and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lansing you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lansing

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 Lansing

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