Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Hillsdale you can determine when it's the best time 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 all chance of frost has passed.

Since basil require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Hillsdale 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. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hillsdale the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Hillsdale is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hillsdale last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Hillsdale

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