One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Zone 10b you can estimate when it's a good idea 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.

It's a bad idea to plant basil until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Zone 10b is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 10b the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 10b and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 10b you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 10b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 10b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 10b.