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

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant basil by using the USDA zone info for Hempstead.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

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

The earliest that you can plant basil in Hempstead 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Hempstead. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hempstead and it is different every year. Half of the time in Hempstead there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hempstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hempstead

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