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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Central City you should be able to figure out 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.

Basil are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Central City 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 Central City. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in 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 Central City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Central City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Central City

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 Central City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Central City.