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.

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant basil is to consult the USDA zone info for Molalla.

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 all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Molalla. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Molalla is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Molalla last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Molalla

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Molalla

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