One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Mcloud can be reffered to in order to figure out when to 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.

Since basil are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Mcloud 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. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mcloud. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mcloud and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mcloud it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mcloud

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 Mcloud

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