One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Deridder you can figure out when it's possible to plant basil by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Basil are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Deridder 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 fully mature. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Deridder the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Deridder is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Deridder it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Deridder

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Deridder

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