When to plant · 12 cities · zones 6b–9a
When to plant basil in Oregon
Start Genovese Basil seeds indoors around Mar 14 and transplant around Apr 25 — the Oregon statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 11 across 398 ZIP codes and 155 NOAA stations.
The rule: Basil is damaged below about 50 °F, well before frost: transplant two weeks after the last frost, not on it.
Oregon basil, by step
Statewide median last frost Apr 11, first fall frost Oct 30, 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 14 | Apr 25 | Jun 24 | 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 Oregon's ZIP codes resolve to; 30 of 428 ZIPs have no datable freeze and are left out.
Basil in Oregon, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portlandzone 8b | Feb 25 | Jan 28 | Mar 11 | May 10 |
| Salemzone 8b | Apr 3 | Mar 6 | Apr 17 | Jun 16 |
| Eugenezone 8b | Apr 11 | Mar 14 | Apr 25 | Jun 24 |
| Greshamzone 9a | Mar 16 | Feb 16 | Mar 30 | May 29 |
| Hillsborozone 8b | Apr 16 | Mar 19 | Apr 30 | Jun 29 |
| Bendzone 6b | Jun 6 | May 9 | Jun 20 | Aug 19 |
| Beavertonzone 9a | Feb 11 | Jan 14 | Feb 25 | Apr 26 |
| Medfordzone 8b | Apr 8 | Mar 11 | Apr 22 | Jun 21 |
| Corvalliszone 8b | Apr 17 | Mar 20 | May 1 | Jun 30 |
| Springfieldzone 8b | Apr 11 | Mar 14 | Apr 25 | Jun 24 |
| Tigardzone 9a | Apr 1 | Mar 4 | Apr 15 | Jun 14 |
| Albanyzone 8b | Apr 17 | Mar 20 | May 1 | Jun 30 |
What these basil become
What Oregon 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 Oregon: questions
When should I plant basil in Oregon?
Transplant around Apr 25 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 23 in the warmest tenth of Oregon's ZIP codes to Jun 10 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 3 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.
When do I start basil seeds indoors in Oregon?
Around Mar 14 for Genovese Basil: 4 weeks before the statewide median last frost, on soil held at 70–80 °F.
When is the last frost in Oregon?
The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 11. In the warmest tenth of Oregon's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Mar 9; in the coldest tenth, on or after May 27.
When will Oregon basil be ready to harvest?
Genovese Basil planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 24: 60 days from transplant.
More for Oregon
- 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 → · Oregon frost dates → · How frost-date math works →