One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant basil in Brookings should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

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 Brookings is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Brookings. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Brookings is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Brookings you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Brookings

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Brookings

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