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.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Mandan can be determined 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 has passed.

You can not plant basil until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Mandan 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Mandan. It might get as low as -30°F during 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 Mandan and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mandan it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mandan

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 Mandan

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