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.

The first chance to plant basil in Stanwood can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

It's not a good idea to plant basil until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Stanwood 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. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Stanwood. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Stanwood may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Stanwood it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stanwood

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 Stanwood

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