One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant basil is to check out the USDA zone info for Ridgefield.

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 before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Ridgefield 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 fully mature. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Ridgefield. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ridgefield is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ridgefield you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgefield

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 Ridgefield

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