One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for West Richland should be reviewed to figure out when to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Basil do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in West Richland 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in West Richland. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Richland and it is different every year. Since half of the time in West Richland there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Richland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in West Richland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Richland.