The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when to plant basil by looking at the USDA zone info for Gering.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

It's a bad idea to plant basil until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Gering 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. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gering the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gering and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Gering last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gering

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Gering

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