The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Jackson you can estimate when to plant basil 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 probably a bad idea to plant basil until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Jackson 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

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Jackson. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Jackson is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Jackson it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your basil if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jackson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jackson

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