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 USDA zone info for Johnson City can be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Johnson City 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 really do well. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Johnson City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Johnson City may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Johnson City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Johnson City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Johnson City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Johnson City.