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.

In Washougal you can figure out when it's the best time to plant basil by referring to 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.

Basil are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Washougal 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 really do well. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Washougal the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Washougal is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Washougal you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washougal

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 Washougal

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