One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 USDA zone info for Youngstown can be reviewed to determine when you can plant basil.

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 do not do well in cold weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Youngstown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Youngstown and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Youngstown you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Youngstown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Youngstown

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