One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 first opportunity to plant basil in Reno can be determined by looking at 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Reno 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. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Reno the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Reno may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Reno there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Reno

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 Reno

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