One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ferndale you can determine when it's the best time 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Since basil do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Ferndale 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ferndale is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ferndale you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ferndale

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 Ferndale

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