One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Loudon you can determine when to plant basil 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 has passed.

Basil require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Loudon 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 fully mature. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Loudon. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Loudon is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Loudon it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Loudon

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 Loudon

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