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

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant basil is to refer to the USDA zone info for Fort Mill.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Fort Mill 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 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 March 15 in Fort Mill. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure 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 Fort Mill and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Mill you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Mill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Mill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Mill.