When to plant · 11 cities · zones 7a–7b
When to plant basil in Oklahoma
Start Genovese Basil seeds indoors around Mar 7 and transplant around Apr 18 — the Oklahoma statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 4 across 665 ZIP codes and 192 NOAA stations.
The rule: Basil is damaged below about 50 °F, well before frost: transplant two weeks after the last frost, not on it.
Oklahoma basil, by step
Statewide median last frost Apr 4, first fall frost Nov 2, 2027 season. Each cultivar's own indoor lead time and days to maturity, same engine as the Plan Builder.
| Cultivar | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genovese BasilGenovese | Mar 7 | Apr 18 | Jun 17 | 60 from transplant |
Tight means first harvest lands within two weeks of the median first fall frost. Statewide dates are the ZIP-weighted median of every NOAA 1991–2020 station Oklahoma's ZIP codes resolve to.
Basil in Oklahoma, city by city
Genovese Basil, scheduled from each city's nearest NOAA station — the same dates as its frost page.
| City | Last frost | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma Cityzone 7b | Apr 4 | Mar 7 | Apr 18 | Jun 17 |
| Tulsazone 7b | Mar 31 | Mar 3 | Apr 14 | Jun 13 |
| Normanzone 7b | Mar 31 | Mar 3 | Apr 14 | Jun 13 |
| Broken Arrowzone 7b | Apr 1 | Mar 4 | Apr 15 | Jun 14 |
| Edmondzone 7b | Apr 10 | Mar 13 | Apr 24 | Jun 23 |
| Lawtonzone 7b | Mar 26 | Feb 26 | Apr 9 | Jun 8 |
| Moorezone 7b | Mar 31 | Mar 3 | Apr 14 | Jun 13 |
| Midwest Cityzone 7b | Apr 2 | Mar 5 | Apr 16 | Jun 15 |
| Enidzone 7a | Apr 6 | Mar 9 | Apr 20 | Jun 19 |
| Stillwaterzone 7a | Apr 5 | Mar 8 | Apr 19 | Jun 18 |
| Owassozone 7b | Mar 31 | Mar 3 | Apr 14 | Jun 13 |
What these basil become
What Oklahoma basil need
Genovese Sweet Basil Seed
The large-leaf, low-anise Italian basil that pesto is defined by. Thai and lemon basils are good plants and wrong ingredients.
Organic Seed Starter Potting MixMust have
Seed-starting mix is not potting soil with a nicer label — it is finer, lighter, and low in nutrients on purpose, because a seedling's first roots want air and moisture, not fertiliser.
T8 Full-Spectrum Grow Lights, 1 ft 4-packMust have
A south window in March delivers a fraction of the light a pepper seedling needs, and the plant tells you by stretching. Two inches of LED above the canopy for 16 hours a day fixes it permanently.
5-Gallon Fabric Grow Bags, 5-Pack
Fabric pots air-prune roots and drain faster than a plastic pot can, which is the entire reason container tomatoes fail. Five gallons is the honest minimum for a pepper; a tomato wants ten.
Ocean Forest Potting SoilMust have
Pre-charged with enough nutrition to carry a transplant for its first month without feeding, which is exactly the window when most container plants stall.
6" Micro-Tip Pruning SnipsMust have
Ninety percent of sauce-garden cutting is snipping a pepper stem or a basil node, and a fine-tipped snip does it better than any pruner. Pulling peppers by hand tears the branch.
Mesh Strainers, Stainless, 3-Count
The last pass before bottling. A fine mesh catches the skin fragments and seed shards that make a hot sauce gritty and clog a woozy bottle's dripper insert.
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Basil in Oklahoma: questions
When should I plant basil in Oklahoma?
Transplant around Apr 18 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Apr 11 in the warmest tenth of Oklahoma's ZIP codes to Apr 26 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from Apr 20 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.
When do I start basil seeds indoors in Oklahoma?
Around Mar 7 for Genovese Basil: 4 weeks before the statewide median last frost, on soil held at 70–80 °F.
When is the last frost in Oklahoma?
The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 4. In the warmest tenth of Oklahoma's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Mar 28; in the coldest tenth, on or after Apr 12.
When will Oklahoma basil be ready to harvest?
Genovese Basil planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 17: 60 days from transplant.
More for Oklahoma
- When to plant tomatoes
- When to plant peppers
- When to plant tomatillos
- When to plant onions
- When to plant cilantro
- When to plant carrots
- When to plant mustard greens
Basil in every state → · Oklahoma frost dates → · How frost-date math works →