The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant basil is to consult the USDA zone info for Princeton.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Princeton 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. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Princeton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Princeton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Princeton you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Princeton

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 Princeton

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