Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant basil is to examine the USDA zone info for Marshall.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Marshall 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marshall. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Marshall may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Marshall you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marshall

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 Marshall

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