Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge it's a good idea to determine when to plant basil.

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 really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Oak Ridge 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. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oak Ridge. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Ridge there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Ridge

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 Oak Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Ridge.