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.

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

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Basil require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Harrisburg 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Harrisburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Harrisburg is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Harrisburg you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Harrisburg

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