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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant basil is to use the USDA zone info for San Antonio.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in San Antonio 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. 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

In San Antonio the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Antonio and it is different every year. Half of the time in San Antonio you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Antonio

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in San Antonio

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Antonio.