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.

In Keene you can figure out when you can 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.

Since basil are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Keene 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Keene. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Keene is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Keene last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Keene

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 Keene

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