One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Ontario you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant basil in Ontario 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ontario. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ontario is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ontario last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ontario

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ontario

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