Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Brookings it's a good idea to determine when you can plant basil.

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 a bad idea to plant basil until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Brookings is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Brookings. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Brookings is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Brookings you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Brookings

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Brookings

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