When to Plant Basil in Port Jefferson, NY

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant basil in Port Jefferson can be figured out by referring to 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant basil until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant basil
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant basil
Probably not a good time to plant basil

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

Last Frost Date

In Port Jefferson 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 Port Jefferson is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Port Jefferson it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Port Jefferson

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Port Jefferson

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Jefferson.