One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for Jamestown can be reviewed to determine when to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Basil are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Jamestown is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Jamestown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Jamestown is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Jamestown it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jamestown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Jamestown

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